THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


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COPYRIGHT,  1*97,  BY 
X.  E.  JONES. 


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PREFACE. 


It  required  long  trains  of  complex  circum- 
stances, and  peculiar  conditions  for  each,  to  give 
to  the  world  a  Moses,  an  Alexander,  a  Napoleon, 
a  Washington.  Still  greater  were  the  pre-arrange- 
ments  and  preparations  for  the  development  of 
the  coming  man  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  that 
he  might  stand  pre-eminently  upon  the  summit 
of  American  manhood.  The  habitation  selected 
was  the  most  elaborate  and  lovely  of  all  the  gifts 
of  nature  :  A  domain  dedicated  to  freedom  for- 
ever, bountifully  supplied  with  animals,  vege- 
tables, and  minerals ;  with  lakes,  rivers,  and 
running  brooks,  grassy  lawns  and  fields  of  flow- 
ers ;  making  a  fitting  place  for  the  best  blood  left 
of  the  American  Revolution  ;  descendants  of 
Anglo-Saxon  kings ;  knights  of  Norman  titles 
and  heroic  deeds  ;  supporters  of  William  the  Con- 
queror, whose  ancestral  names  appear  in  the 
Doomsday  Book,  but  more  imperishably  written 
in  the  law  of  descent  and  transmission.  With 
such  the  new  environment  brought  forth  an  im- 

(iii) 


IV  PREFACE. 

proved  species,  christened  by  a  sovereign  state, 
"The  Squirrel  Hunters  of  Ohio;  or,  Glimpses  of 
Pioneer  Life ,"  and  to  whom  this  volume  is  most 
respectfully  dedicated. 

N.   E.   JONES,  M.  D. 


INTRODUCTION. 


As  an  actor  and  interested  witness  of  the  mar- 
velous changes  which  have  occurred  in  the  settle- 
ment and  civilization  of  the  "North-west  Terri- 
tory," the  author  places  before  the  reader  this 
book,  entitled,  ^TJic  Squirrel  Hunters  of  Ohio ;  or, 
Glimpses  of  Pioneer  Life." 

Others  have  faithfully  recorded  the  wars,  blood- 
shed, victories,  defeats,  dangers  and  deaths  it 
cost  to  subjugate  the  savage  and  establish  the 
civilized.  And  it  is  as  the  gleaner  follows  the 
reapers  and  gathers  in  the  wayward  straws,  that 
the  author  hopes  to  interest  and  entertain,  by 
picking  up  some  of  the  fragments,  that  nothing 
may  be  lost  which  contributed  to  the  elevation, 
pleasure,  subsistence  and  safety  of  the  pioneer, 
or  added  attractiveness  to  his  home  during  the 
rise  of  the  first  state  in  the  great  empire  of  the 
North-west. 

It  is  often  the  little  things  that  become  the  most 
important — things  the  immigrant  in  old  age  de- 
lights to  recall — things  that  bring  up  associations 

(v) 


VI  INTRODUCTION. 

and  pleasures  of  former  days — "the  good  old 
times,"  when  with  dog  and  gun  the  pioneer 
walked  the  unbroken  forest  and  made  himself  fa- 
miliar with  the  alphabet  of  beasts,  birds  and 
trees. 

At  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  the  Eastern 
States  were  old  and  prematurely  gray,  and 
poverty,  bankruptcy  and  starvation  induced  the 
patriotic  soldiers  to  accept  pay  for  their  services 
in  unsurveyed  wild  land  in  the  "North-west  Ter- 
ritory." The  new  acquisition  was  lauded  as  a 
country  flowing  with  equivalents  to  "milk  and 
honey,"  and  would  sustain  a  large  population, 
make  delightful  homes,  and  furnish  an  easily-ac- 
quired subsistence. 

As  soon  as  the  Indian  dangers  were  no  longer 
detrimental,  the  homeless  poor,  with  guns,  am- 
munition and  land  certificates,  flocked  in  from 
all  quarters  of  the  world,  took  possession  of  the 
country,  and  became  the  progenitors  of  a  great 
and  pre-eminent  people — "77ic  Squirrel  Hunter*  <>/ 
Ohio." 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS. 


CHAP.      I.     OHIO — EARLY  SETTLEMENT,        .         .         1 

II.     OHIO — EDUCATIONAL,  SOCIAL,  AND  PO- 
LITICAL, .....       51 

III.  OHIO — PROFESSIONS:  MEDICAL,  MINIS- 

TERIAL, AND  LEGAL,       .         .         .107 

IV.  OHIO — HER  BEASTS,  BIRDS,  AND  TREES  : 

AIDS  TO  HIGHER  CIVILIZATION,       .     166 

V.     OHIO — HER     COACH,     CANAL,      AND 

STEAMBOAT  ERA,  .         .         .     267 

VI.     OHIO — HER     RAILROAD     AND     TELE- 
GRAPH ERA,  .         .         .         .310 

(vii) 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 


FRONTISPIECE. 

Homo  of  the  Pioneer     ........  7 

This  is  Freedom ! 9 

The  Gum  Tree, 12 

Stray  Pup, 30 

Gamer,             ..........  33 

Our  Cabin,  1821, 37 

Ground  Hog  Club — Certificate  of  Membership,          .         .  58 

Ohio  School-house  from  1796  to  1840,       ....  64 

School-house  of  1851,  in  which  President  Garfield  Taught,  92 

The  Olive  Branch, 95 

Hunter  and  Dog,            118 

Man  of  Special  Providences, 128 

Church,  Residence,  and  Court-house,          ....  131 

Public  School  Building,  Pickaway  County,  O.,  1851,       .  148 

A  Squirrel  Hunter, 171 

A  Herd  of  Bison, 174 

Camp  Red  River  Hunters,     .......  176 

Turkey  River,  Iowa,  1845, 221 

Sequoia  Park, 235 

Conflict  in  Pre-emption  Claims, 250 

Chillicothe  Elm, 252 

Logan  Elm, 253 

Map — Lord  Dunmore's  Campaign,        .         .         .         .         .  256 

Monument.  Boggs  Family,         ......  263 

Indian  Raid, 264 

Spinning  Wheel, 275 

Canal  Era,  1825, .  290 

Log  Cabin  Luminary,         .......  292 

Ohio  Stage  Coach, 301 

Prairie  Schooner,        ........  306 

New  Passenger  Car  on  the  Toledo  and  Adrian  R'y,  1837,  320 

Pontoon  Bridge  over  the  Ohio  River,            ....  337 

Governor's  Certificate  of  Honorable  Membership,         .  343 

The  Squirrel  Hunter's  Discharge, 344 

Draft  Wheel, 349 


THE  SQUIRREL  HUNTERS  OF  OHIO; 

OR, 

GLIMPSES   OF  PIONEER  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OHIO— EARLY   SETTLEMENTS. 


From  the  time  the  Mayflower  landed  at  Fort 
Harmar  (Marietta)  in  1788  until  1795,  emigration 
had  not  materially  increased  the  population  of  the 
North-west,  owing  to  the  unstable  and  dissatisfied 
condition  of  the  Indians. 

All  this  time,  the  soldier,  who  had  served  his 
time  in  the  cause  of  independence  and  been  hon- 
orably discharged  without  pay  : — the  poverty- 
stricken  patriot,  unable  to  procure  subsistence  for 
himself  and  family  in  the  bankrupt  colonies,  had 
been  listening  to  accounts  of  aland  "flowing  with 
milk  and  honey,"  and  was  anxious  to  get  there. 
It  was  described  as  a  country  "fertile  as  heart 
could  wish:" — "fair  to  look  upon,  and  fragrant 
with  the  thousand  fresh  odors  of  the  woods  in 
early  spring."  The  long  cool  aisles  leading 
away  into  mazes  of  vernal  green  where  the  swift 
deer  bounded  by  unmolested  and  as  yet  unscared 

(l) 


2  THE    SQUIRRHL    HUNTERS. 

by  the  sound  of  the  woodman's  ax  or  the  sharp 
ring  of  the  ride.  "lie  could  imagine  the  wooded 
slopes  and  the  tall  grass  of  the  plain  jeweled  with 
strange  and  brilliant  flowers;"  but  there  the 
red  man  had  his  field  of  corn,  and  would  defend 
his  rights. 

The  success  of  General  Wayne  in  procuring 
terms  of  peace  with  the  warlike  tribes  of  Indians 
in  the  spring  of  1795,  caused  such  an  influx  of 
emigration  into  the  Ohio  division  of  the  North- 
west Territory,  that  in  1798  the  population  en- 
abled the  election  of  an  Assembly  which  met  the 
following  year,  and  sent  William  Henry  Harrison 
as  a  delegate  to  Congress.  So  rapidly  did  the 
country  fill  up  with  new  settlements  that  the 
prospective  state  at  the  beginning  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  was  knocking  at  the  door  for  ad- 
mission, with  all  the  pathways  crowded  by  pe- 
destrians— men,  women,  and  children — dogs  and 
guns  ;  crossing  the  perilous  mountains  to  reach  a 
country  where  a  home  was  a  matter  of  choice, 
and  subsistence  furnished  without  money  or 
price . 

Where  all  these  lovers  of  freedom  and  free  soil 
came  from,  and  how  they  got  here,  will  ever  re- 
main a  mystery  next  in  obscurity  to  that  of  the 
Ancient  Mound  Builders.  They  brought  with 
them  the  peculiarities  of  every  civili/ed  nation, 
and  continued  to  come  until  Ohio  became  the 
beaten  road  to  western  homes  beyond.  They 
were  God's  homeless  poor — the  file  of  a  success- 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS. 

fill  revolution — the  founders  of  a  republic.  As 
such  they  accepted  pay  and  bounty  in  wild 
lands — established  homes  of  civilization,  culti- 
vated the  arts  and  sciences,  and  soon  increased 
in  numbers,  until  they  became  a  people  powerful 
in  war  and  influential  in  peace. 

Men  and  women,  the  chosen  best,  of  the  entire 
world,  by  causes  foreordained,  were  made  the  ex- 
ponents of  the  axioms  contained  in  the  charter 
founding  the  great  empire  of  freedom.  They 
were  strangers  to  luxury — unknown  to  the  cor- 
roding influences  of  avarice,  and  unfamiliar  with 
national  vices.  Their  lives  were  surrounded  with 
happiness,  and  they  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  en- 
joying the  pleasures  of  large  families  of  children 
in  a  land  of  peace  and  plenty.  These  and  their 
descendants  are  the  "Squirrel  Hunters"  of  his- 
tory. 

Kentucky  had  received  her  baptism  into  the 
Union  in  1791,  but  afterward  felt  slighted  and 
dissatisfied,  looking  toward  secession,  if  the  five 
proposed  states,  outlined  by  the  act  of  1787  as 
the  North-west  Territory,  should  constitute  an 
independent  confederacy.  The  opinion  seemed 
to  exist  to  no  small  extent,  that  the  North-west 
was  by  necessity  bound  to  become  separated  from 
the  Atlantic  States  ;  and  Kentucky  was  lending 
her  influence  to  this  end.  Josiah  Espy,  in  his 
"Tour  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  in  1805,"  says  :  "In 
traveling  through  this  immense  and  beautiful 
countrv,  one  idea,  mingled  with  melancholy  emo- 


4  TIIK    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

tions,  almost  continually  presented  itself  to  my 
mind,  which  was  this  :  that  before  many  years 
the  people  of  that  great  tract  of  country  would 
separate  themselves  from  the  Atlantic  States,  and 
establish  an  independent  empire.  The  peculiar 
situation  of  the  country,  and  the  nature  of  the 
men,  will  gradually  lead  to  this  crisis  ;  but  what 
will  be  the  proximate  cause  producing  this  great 
effect  is  yet  in  the  womb  of  time.  Perhaps  some 
of  us  may  live  to  see  it.  When  the  inhabitants 
of  that  immense  territory  will  themselves  inde- 
pendent, force  from  the  Atlantic  States  to  re- 
strain them  would  be  madness  and  folly.  It  can 
not  be  prevented." 

But  the  inhabitants  of  this  immense  territory 
had  a  better  and  clearer  vision  of  the  mission  of 
this  "vast  empire  ;"  it  was  to  be  the  heart  and 
controlling  center  of  a  great  nation  of  freemen. 
And  when  Ohio,  in  1803,  entered  the  Union  un- 
der the  enabling  act,  binding  the  Government  to 
construct  a  national  highway  from  Cumberland 
to  the  Ohio  river,  and  through  the  State  of  Ohio, 
as  a  bond  of  union  between  the  East  and  West, 
no  more  was  heard  of  secession  until  the  rebel- 
lion of  the  sixties. 

In  1821,  a  member  of  the  Virginia  legislature 
(Mr.  Blackburn) ,  in  discussing  the  question  of 
secession,  claimed  there  ought  to  be  an  eleventh 
commandment,  and  taking  a  political  view  of  it, 
said  it  should  be  in  these  words:  "Thou  shalt 
not,  nor  shall  thy  wife,  thy  son  or  thy  daughter. 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  O 

thy  man-servant  or  thy  maid-servant,  the  stranger 
or  sojourner  within  thy  gates,  dare  in  any  wise 
to  mention  or  hint  at  dissolution  of  the  Union." 
Mr.  Blackburn  did  not  live  to  see  it,  but  the 
words  of  the  commandment  came  sealed  in  blood 
and  "were  graven  with  an  iron  pen  and  lead  in 
the  rock  forever." 

Many  persons  at  the  very  dawn  of  indepen- 
dence felt  the  weakness  of  a  union  of  such  con- 
flicting sentiments  and  interests  as  those  of  free- 
dom and  slavery,  and  were  free  in  the  expression 
that  either  slavery  or  freedom  must  rule  and  con- 
trol the  destinies  of  the  nation — that  the  two 
could  not,  nor  would  not,  co-operate  peaceably  in 
the  same  field. 

Francis  A.  Walker,  in  "Making  of  the  Nation," 
says:  "No  one  can  rightly  read  the  history  of 
the  United  States  who  does  not  recognize  the 
prodigious  influence  exerted  in  the  direction  of 
unreserving  nationality  by  the  growth  of  great 
communities  beyond  the  mountains  and  their 
successive  admission  as  states  of  the  Union." 
And  the  author  apprehends  "great  danger"  from 
the  aversion  of  Western  people  to  "measures  pro- 
posed in  the  interests  of  financial  integrity,  com- 
mercial credit  and  national  honor.  'Having  a 
predilection  for  loose  laws  regarding  bankrupt- 
cies and  cheap  money  has  been  a  constant  men- 
ace and  a  frequent  cause  of  mischief.'  This, 
however,  we  may  regard  as  due  to  the  stage  of 
settlement  and  civilization  reached.' 


6  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

No  one,  if  he  reads  at  all,  can  read  otherwise 
than  the  "prodigious  influence"  of  the  Western 
States.  To  these  the  nation  owes  its  freedom. 
Through  this  prodigious  influence,  slaves  and 
slavery  have  been  wiped  out,  national  finance  es- 
tablished with  enlarged  commercial  credit,  integ- 
rity and  national  honor.  And  if  the  history  of 
the  United  States  is  correctly  read,  the  country 
need  fear  no  danger  from  any  stage  in  the  settle- 
ment and  civilization  of  the  North-west.  The 
early  pioneers  of  this  lovely  country  brought  with 
them  from  the  South  and  East  large  stocks  of 
patriotism  perfumed  with  the  firearms  of  a  suc- 
cessful revolution  ;  and  it  was  prized  more  highly 
as  it  was  chiefly  all  they  had  in  a  home  where 
poverty  was  no  disgrace,  and  a  "poor-house"  un- 
known in  nature's  great  empire.  Their  descend- 
ants inherited  much,  and  increased  their  talents, 
and  have  under  all  circumstances  been  ready  to 
render  a  favorable  account  and  go  up  higher. 

The  residence  of  the  immigrant  was  exceed- 
ingly primitive  ;  still,  it  could  not  be  said  the  log 
cabin  of  the  pioneer  made  a  cheerless  home,  by 
any  means.  Man  retains  too  much  of  the  un- 
evolutionized  not  to  find  and  enjoy  the  most 
pleasure  in  things  nearest  the  heart  of  nature. 
Many  pointers  and  pen  pictures  originating  in 
these  humble  domiciles  exist  in  evidence  of  the 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  enjoyed  by  the  early  in- 
habitants, regardless  of  apparent  privations, 
previous  conditions  or  existing  numbers. 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  / 

Late  in  the  fall  of  1798  a  revolutionary  soldier 
wrote  on  the  fly-leaf  of  his  Bible  that  the  "North- 
west Territory"  made  a  delightful  home,  saying  : 
"My  footsteps  always  gladly  hasten  homeward; 
and  when  I  pull  the  string  and  open  the  door, 
the  delicious  odor  of  roasting  game  and  corn- 
bread  meets  with  smiles  of  hungry  approbation. 
And  with  kisses  for  tbo  children  and  blessings 


Home  of  the  Pioneer. 

for  a  good  wife,  who  could  ask  for  more  or  a  bet- 
ter home.". 

Another  in  1799— "We  often  talk  of  fathers 
and  mothers,  brothers  and  sisters  and  friends  left 
behind,  and  Avish  them  here.  And  as  the  holi- 
days draw  near  we  send  them  our  wishes  and 
prayers,  for  it  is  all  we  can  do.  There  is  no  mail 
or  carrier  pigeon  to  cross  the  wilderness  that 
takes  any  thing  else." 

The  pioneer  believed  in  the  declaration  of  the 


8  •  THE     SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

Ordinance  of  1787,  that  "Religion,  Morality,  and 
Knowledge"  were  necessary  to  good  government 
and  happiness  of  mankind.  Thanksgiving  and 
Christmas  were  days  of  universal  observation. 
The  Star  of  Bethlehem  was  the  Star  of  Em- 
pire, and  rested  as  brightly  over  the  North-west 
Territory  as  when  shining  on  the  little  town  in 
Judea. 

During  the  first  few  years  of  pioneer  life,  new 
and  interesting  as  it  must  have  been,  few  per- 
sons, comparatively,  kept  a  diary  of  social  life 
and  times  ;  and  of  such  accounts  fewer  still  re- 
main to  the  present.  Yet  the  number  is  suffi- 
cient to  show  corroborating  testimony  or  agree- 
ment with  the  following  in  substance  taken  from 
a  family  history  of  a  father  and  mother  who, 
with  three  small  children,  a  dog  and  gun,  and 
all  their  worldly  goods,  crossed  the  mountains  on 
foot,  by  following  the  Indian  trail — reaching  the 
Ohio  river,  floated  to  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto  on 
a  temporary  raft,  and  from  the  confluence  pushed 
up  its  winding  course  over  fifty  miles  in  a  "dug- 
out" to  the  "High  Bank  Prairie,"  near  where 
Chillicothe  now  stands — making  the  trip  from 
Eastern  Pennsylvania  in  sixty-three  days  ;  arriv- 
ing at  the  place  of  destination  April  25,  1798 — 
a  day  of  thanksgiving  ever  after. 

The  first  Christmas  seen  or  enjoyed  in  the  new 
home  of  this  family  would  in  the  present  era  be 
considered  out  of  date,  but  doubtless  at  the  time 


EARLY    SETTLEMKXTS. 


9 


was  the  duplicate  of  hundreds  of  others.  The 
day,  before  the  event,  was  set  aside  for  procur- 
ing extra  supplies  from  nature's  store-house,  re- 
gardless of  any  signal  service.  A  coon-skin  cap 
and  gloves — deer-skin  breeches  and  leggins,  and 
a  wolf-skin  "hunting  sliirf  made  the  weather 
right  at  all  times  with  the  hunter. 


"  "*"'  'i  /  V'     ''  / 

m 


"  Ay,  this  is  freedom! — these  pure  skies 

Were  never  stained  with  village  smoke : 
The  fragrant  wind  that  through  them  flies, 
As  breathed  from  wastes  by  plough  unbroke. 

"  Here  with  myrtle  and  my  steed, 

And  her  who  left  the  world  for  me, 
I  plant  me  where  the  red  deer  feed 
In  the  green  desert — and  am  free." 

Early  in  the  morning  on  the  24th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1798,  this  pioneer  started  out  with  dog  and 
gun  in  pursuit  of  Christmas  supplies.  It  was 
no  small  game  day — a  deer,  moose,  bear,  or  wild 


THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

turkey  must  adorn  the  bill  of  fare  for  the  Christ- 
mas dinner. 

Before  the  sun  had  reached  the  meridian  mark 
in  the  door-way,  he  returned  loaded  down  with 
three  turkeys  and  two  grouse.  The  country 
made  such  a  favorable  impression,  as  soon  as 
time  and  chance  offered  an  opportunity,  the  hus- 
band sent  a  letter  to  a  friend  at  Redstone,  Penn.. 
who  had  never  seen  Ohio,  in  which  he  recalls 
this  hunt  and  the  first  Christmas  he  enjoyed  in 
this  lovely  country,  and  which  is  here  given  in 
his  own  language  : 

"After  dressing  the  game  and  making  a  pres- 
ent of  a  turkey  and  two  grouse  to  a  widow  and 
two  children  across  the  river,  I  told  Grace  (my 
wife)  that  the  man  who  got  injured  by  the  falling 
tree  must  have  a  turkey,  and  with  her  approba- 
tion I  shouldered  a  dressed  gobbler  and  delivered 
the  kind  remembrances  of  my  wife  to  the  unfor- 
tunate.'' 

"  When  I  returned,  it  was  quite  dark,  but  my 
mind  was  ill  at  ease,  and  I  told  Grace  I  thought 
we  had  better  take  the  other  turkey  down  to 
Rev.  Dixon  as  he  hunted  but  seldom,  and  a  bird 
of  the  kind  would  appear  quite  becoming,  in  the 
presence  of  a  large  family  of  small  children  at  a 
Christmas  dinner.  These  suggestions  met  with 
hearty  approval,  and  I  started  off  to  walk  a  half 
mile  or  more  with  a  great  dressed  gobbler  in  one 
hand,  a  gun  in  the  other,  and  dog  in  front. 

''On  arrival  1  found  the  latch-string  drawn  in, 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  11 

but  a  knock  on  the  door  soon  caused  an  opening 
large  enough  to  admit  the  procession.  The  pre- 
sentation was  made  with  an  Irish  speech,  dilat- 
ing and  describing  the  virtues  of  the  deceased; 
and  wishing  the  minister,  his  Quaker  Mission  and 
his  family  a  merry  Christmas,  I  turned  my  steps 
homewards." 

"On  my  return,  Grace  wished  to  know  what  I 
expected  for  our  own  dinner  ; — reminding  me  of 
the  guests, — Samuel  Wilkins  and  Benjamin 
James,  who  were  looked  for  by  invitation,  I  told 
her  I  had  been  thinking  while  on  the  way  home 
from  Mr.  Dixon's,  that  Dr.  Hamberger  and  wife 
up  at  the  ferry  were  nice  folks,  and  the  Dr.  had 
been  pretty  busy  in  his  'clearing'  lately,  and  that 
Jack  and  I  would  go,  early  in  the  morning,  up 
to  the  beech  bottom,  and  get  a  turkey  for  the 
Doctor,  and  one  for  us — I  said  '  Won't  we  Jack"1 — 
and  Jack's  assent  was  at  once  made  known  by 
the  wag  of  his  tail." 

"Christmas  morning,  before  the  breakfast  hour, 
Jack  and  I  returned  with  two  gobblers,  and 
throwing  them  down  at  the  cabin  door  I  ex- 
claimed 'they  are  heavy.'  As  I  did  so  'a  merry 
Christmas'1  from  Grace  rang  out  on  the  bare  and 
frosty  forest  for  the  first  time  ever  heard  in  that 
vicinity.  'Oh  !  the  poor  birds'  (said  Grace) , 
'how  nicely  bronzed  they  are — who  is  it  that 
paints  those  iridescent  colors?  I  never  saw  a 
happier  pair  than  you  and  Jack  make.'  I  re- 
plied, 'they  are  beautiful  birds,  but  if  I'd  had 


12 


THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTKRS. 


my  wits  about  me,  I  could  have  shown  the  best 
woman  west  of  the  Alleghanies  the  nicest  fat 
fawn  she  ever  looked  at.  But  I  was  hunting 
for  turkeys,  and  did  not  see  it  quite  soon  enough, 
and  let  it  go  without  a  shot.  Never  mind,'  I 
said,  'I'll  be  there  in  a  clay  or  two' — and  I  was." 
The  hunter  states  that  he  dressed  the  game, 


left  a  turkey  in  the  doctor's  cabin,  and  then  as- 
sisted Grace  in  placing  a  twenty  pound  bird  on  a 
wooden  spit  to  roast  for  dinner. 

Before  noon  the  invited  guests  came  and  after 
pleasantly  reviewing  army  scenes  and  political, 
social  and  literary  prospects  of  the  people  com- 
ing to  the  unbroken  wilderness  of  the  North- 

O 

west,    dinner  was   announced   from    the   kitchen 


KARIA'    SETTLEMENTS.  13 

dining-room  and  parlor ;  and  a  more  intellectual 
and  jolly  company  has  probably  not  assembled  at 
a  Christmas  dinner  since  1798.  The  guests  had 
filled  important  positions  in  the  general  govern- 
ment, and  were  both  natives  of  New  York  ;  while 
the  host  was  from  Dublin,  and  hostess  an  Eng- 
lish lady,  a  former  resident  of  London — all  edu- 
cated people,  and  knew  how  to  entertain  and 
partake  of  social  and  mental  enjoyments. 

The  good  pioneer  became  schooled  to  a  quiet, 
but  heroic  submission  to  the  unavoidable  ;  and 
in  this  virtue  Grace  was  recognized  a  model 
throughout  the  settlement.  Still  she  manifested 
the  greatest  sorrow  one  could  well  express  in  the 
loss  of  the  souvenir  she  had  so  carefully  preserved 
and  protected  from  damage  during  the  long  and 
perilous  journey  to  Ohio.  A  large  English  Bible, 
printed  in  the  infancy  of  the  art,  containing  the 
family  coat  of  arms  and  record  for  over  four  hun- 
dred years,  with  a  chart  of  unbroken  line  of  de- 
scent for  near  one  thousand  years.  All  was  lost 
in  the  burning  of  their  cabin  in  1812. 

The  pioneer  and  his  good  wife  lived  to  enjoy 
with  these  three  children  and  grandchildren, 
forty-six  returns  of  the  Star  of  Bethlehem,  near 
where  the  first  Christmas  day  was  seen  in  Ohio  ; 
and  the  writer  has  often  heard  the  aged  couple 
recite  with  feelings  of  delightful  remembrance 
the  first  Christmas  in  Ohio  as  the  dearest  and  most 
enchanting  of  all  others. 

A  country  by  nature  so  lovely  exerted  no  little 


14  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

influence  on  the  civilization  and  character  of  its 
early,  but  mixed  inhabitants.  They  all  were,  or 
soon  became,  genial,  warm-hearted,  kind,  neigh- 
borly and  obliging,  in  a  sense  unknown  to  phases 
of  civilization  connected  with  affluent  circum- 
stances. They  generally  settled  at  short  distances 
from  each  other,  to  better  enable  them  to  render 
mutual  assistance,  and  also  protection  in  times 
of  danger.  Much  of  the  labor  necessary  to  open 
up  a  new  country  of  this  character  could  not  be 
performed  "weak-handed"  as  "rolling  logs," 
building  cabins,  opening  roads,  etc.  ;  and  when 
a  new  arrival  appeared  in  the  settlement  and  an- 
nounced his  desire  to  remain,  all  the  neighborhood 
would  cheerfully  turn  out,  and  with  shovels,  axes 
and  augurs  assemble  at  some  designated  spot  in 
the  forest,  and  Avork  from  day  to  day  until  a 
domicile  was  completed.  Although  entirely  gra- 
tuitous, the  construction  of  these  log-houses  was 
a  business  of  experience.  First,  trees  were  cut 
down  sufficiently  to  make  an  opening  for  sunlight, 
and  site  to  place  the  cabin  ;  then  logs  of  deter- 
mined diameter  and  length  were  cut  and  placed 
in  position,  one  above  another,  and  by  notching 
the  corners  in  a  manner  calculated  to  make  them 
lie  closely  together,  the  whole  became  very  sub- 
stantial and  binding.  Cross-logs  made  sleepers 
and  joists,  and  similar  logs  of  different  lengths 
formed  the  gables,  and  which  were  held  together 
by  supports  for  the  roof  in  a  way  truly  primitive 
and  ingenious.  It  was  covered  with  clap-boards 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  15 

four  or  five  feet  long,  split  from  oak  timber, 
placing  them  in  the  usual  way  to  turn  rain, 
and  securing  their  position  by  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  heavy  poles  or  split  pieces  of  timber  reach- 
ing the  length  of  the  roof  at  right  angles  to  the 
boards.  The  weight  pole  at  the  eaves  was  made 
stationery  by  the  projecting  ends  of  the  top  logs 
at  the  corners  of  the  building,  and  the  others  were 
prevented  from  rolling  down  and  off  the  building 
by  intervening  blocks  of  wood  placed  parallel 
with  the  clap-boards,  one  end  resting  against  the 
pole  at  the  eaves  and  the  other  end  acting  as  a 
stop  to  the  pole  next  above  ;  and  so  on  to  the 
comb  of  the  roof.  The  floor,  if  not  of  earth,  was 
made  of  puncheons  or  long  clap-boards.  The 
door  was  constructed  of  heavy  pieces  of  split 
timber,  joined  to  the  cross-sections,  or  battens 
with  wooden  pins.  One  end  of  the  lower  and  up- 
per battens  was  made  to  project  far  enough  beyond 
the  side  of  the  door,  and  large  enough  to  admit  an 
auger  hole  of  an  inch  and  a  half  to  form  part  of 
the  hinge  for  the  door.  The  battens  and  hinges 
were  placed  on  the  inside,  also  the  latch,  to  which 
a  strong  string  was  attached,  and  passed  through 
a  small  hole  a  short  distance  above,  terminating 
on  the  outside.  By  pulling  the  string  the  latch 
was  raised  and  the  door  opened  by  persons  with- 
out. At  night,  the  string  was  pulled  in,  which 
made  a  very  secure  and  convenient  fastening,  in 
connection  with  the  two  great  wooden  pins  that 
projected  on  the  line  of  the  top  of  the  door  to 


10  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

prevent  it  from  being  raised  off  the  hinges  when 
closed.  It  is  quite  probable,  as  has  often  been 
suggested,  this  primitive  latch  and  lock  combina- 
tion gave  rise  to  the  saying  "you  will  find  the 
latch-string  always  out." 

There  were  no  windows  ;  but,  if  one  was  at- 
tempted, it  consisted  of  a  small  opening  without 
frame,  sash,  or  glass,  and  was  covered  with  a 
piece  of  an  old  garment  or  greased  paper.  The 
chimney  formed  the  most  important,  as  well  as 
singular,  part  of  the  structure.  It  was  built 
upon  the  outside,  and  joined  to  the  cabin  some 
five  or  six  feet  in  height  at  the  base,  and  then 
contracted,  forming  a  stem  detached  from  the 
building  and  terminating  short  of  its  height. 
The  materials  used  in  its  construction  consisted 
of  sticks  and  mud,  and  when  completed  resem- 
bled somewhat  in  shape  an  immense  bay  window, 
or  an  overgrown  parasite.  The  logs  of  the  build- 
ing were  cut  away  at  the  chimney  so  as  to  give  a 
great  opening  into  this  mud  pen  for  a  fireplace, 
and  which  sometimes  had  a  back-wall  made  of 
clay,  shale,  or  stone.  The  crevices  between  the 
logs  were  filled  with  small  pieces  of  split  wood 
and  clay  mortar,  both  on  the  inside  and  outside. 
Numerous  augur  holes  were  bored  in  the  logs, 
and  pins  driven  in  to  hang  articles  of  apparel 
and  cooking  utensils  on.  Two  pins  in  particular 
were  always  so  arranged  as  to  receive  the  gun, 
and  perhaps  under  which  might  be  seen  a  pair 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  17 

of    doer  antlers  to    honor  the    powder-horn    and 
bullet  pouch. 

To  erect  a  rude  cabin  of  this  kind  would  fre- 
quently occupy  all  the  persons  in  a  neighborhood 
three  or  four  clays  ;  and,  when  finished,  made  a 
very  humble  appearance  in  the  midst  of  the  nat- 
ural grandeur  of  its  surroundings.  Even  after 
the  occupants  were  domiciliated,  the  addition  of 
their  worldly  goods  added  but  little  to  the  unos- 
tentatious show  of  comfort.  In  the  absence  of 
facilities  for  transportation,  the  pioneer  was 
obliged  to  leave  most  every  thing  behind  ;  or, 
worse  perhaps,  had  nothing  but  family,  clog,  and 
gun  to  bring  with  him  ;  so  the  furniture  of  his 
new  home  consisted  of  a  bedstead  made  of  poles — 
a  table  from  a  split  log-; — a  chair  in  the  shape 
of  a  three-legged  stool  ; — a  bench,  and  a  short 
shelf  or  two.  The  utensils  for  cooking  were 
quite  as  limited  and  simple,  and  corresponded  in 
usefulness  and  decoration  most  admirably  with 
the  furniture  ;  generally  consisting  of  a  kettle, 
''skillet,"  stew-pan,  a  few  pewter  dishes,  and 
gourds.  These  with  an  occasional  souvenir,  or 
simple  article  that  could  be  easily  carried  from 
the  "Old  Home,''  made  up  the  invoice  of  the  in- 
side of  the  cabin  of  the  pioneer. 

Notwithstanding  the  apparent  scant}7  comforts 
in  the  house,  they  were  more  imaginary  than 
real.  It  required  but  little  exertion  to  keep  the 
larder  supplied  with  the  choicest  beasts,  birds, 


18  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

and  fish,  which  with  hominy,  or,  still  better,  the 
corn  dodger,  shortened  with  turkey  fat  or  bear's 
oil,  and  baked  in  the  ashes — or  that  climax,  the 
"johnny-cake"  well  browned  and  piping  hot  on 
the  board  in  front  of  a  grand  open  fire — consti- 
tuted a  substantial  diet  that  might  be  envied  by 
those  of  the  present  day.  In  addition  to  these, 
there  was  no  lack  of  pumpkins,  potatoes,  turnips, 
beans,  berries,*  honey,  and  maple  sugar,  and  the 
early  settler  had  little  reason  to  sigh  for  the  deli- 
cacies of  a  more  advanced  civilization. 

Sugar  making  was  an  attractive  calling  and 
one  of  the  pioneers'  money-making  industries, 
although  sugar  groves  were  scattered  over  the 
entire  state.  The  trees,  by  nature,  were  grega- 
rious, growing  in  clusters  from  hundreds  to  thou- 
sands so  thickly  set  over  the  ground  that  few  if 
any  other  varieties  could  find  room  to  maintain 
a  standing.  There  are  a  few  of  the  older  crop 
of  sugar  trees  still  remaining ;  but  the  great 
"  camps"  that  furnished  sweets  in  abundance 
have,  with  other  varieties  of  timber,  fallen  vic- 
tims to  the  woodman's  ax. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  yearly  "  tapphic/  " 
might  injure  the  growth  and  shorten  the  lon- 
gevity of  the  trees ;  but  both  experiment  and 
observation  tend  to  sustain  the  opposite  opinion. 
A  tree  that  has  been  under  the  notice  of  the  writer 


*  Native  fruit:  cranberries,  huckleberries,  blackberries,  rasp- 
berries, service  berries,  paw-paws  (custard  apples),  persim- 
mons, plums,  grapes,  cherries,  haws,  crab  apples. 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  19 

for  more  than  seventy  years,  and  has  been  tapped 
in  three  to  four  places  every  year  for  the  period 
named,  is  still  a  beautiful,  healthy,  growing  tree. 

It  may  be  corcret,  that  "it  takes  more  than 
one  swallow  to  make  a  summer  ;"  but  the  evi- 
dence shown  in  the  wood  made  into  lumber  after 
many  years  "tapping"  for  "sugar  water"9  (not  sap) , 
is  not  significant  of  injury  or  decay.  The  cut 
made  by  the  auger  is  soon  closed  over,  which,  no 
doubt,  would  be  different  if  the  sugar  was  ob- 
tained from  "the  sap''''  or  wood-producing  fluid. 
The  fluid  which  contains  the  sugar  is  no  nearer 
the  "sap"  (or  blood  of  the  tree)  than  is  the  milk, 
or  other  cellular  secretion  of  a  gland,  near  or 
identical  with  the  blood  or  life  sustaining  and 
constructive  element  of  animal  existence. 

A  pioneer  who  owned  a  small  cluster  of  sugar 
trees  made  his  own  sugar  and  some  to  spare, 
while  those  working  camps  of  several  thousand 
trees  made  it  a  "profitable  calling  and  supplied 
others  at  reasonable  rates  of  exchange,"  so  no 
one  had  occasion  to  stint  or  reason  to  complain. 
It  required  some  labor  and  expense  to  equip  a 
camp  for  making  sugar  ;  but  once  furnished,  the 
material  lasted  many  years.  During  the  time 
unoccupied,  the  furnace  and  kettles  under  the 
shed  would  be  surrounded  with  a  temporary 
fence — the  sugar-troughs,  spiles,  sled,  water- 
barrel,  funnel-buckets,  etc.,  at  the  ending  of  the 
sugar  season  would  be  safely  housed  to  remain 
until  the  next  year.  As  soon  as  the  icv  earth 

v  */ 


20  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

began  giving  way  to  mild  sunshining  days  in  the 
latter  part  of  winter,  it  was  considered  by  the 
"sugar-maker"  as  the  announcement  of  the  near 
approach  of  "sugar  weather.'1''  At  such  times,  on 
like  indications,  the  "sugar-troughs"  woidd  be 
taken  from  the  place  of  deposit  and  distributed 
to  the  trees  ;  the  better  ones  getting  the  larger 
troughs.  The  water-barrel  underwent  inspec- 
tion— the  funnel  refitted — sled  repaired — the 
pile  of  dry  wood  increased — store-room  or  annex 
renovated — tubs  and  buckets  soaked — shortage 
of  "spiles"  and  "sugar-troughs"  made  good- 
furnace  and  kettles  cleaned,  and  every  thing 
made  ready  for  the  work. 

After  this,  the  first  clear  frosty  morning  with 
the  prospect  of  a  thawing  day,  a  man  would  be 
seen  with  an  auger  passing  rapidly  from  tree  to 
tree,  closely  followed  by  another,  with  a  basket 
and  hatchet,  who  "drove  the  spiles"  and  set  the 
troughs  as  fast  as  the  one  with  the  auger  made 
the  holes. 

It  would  have  astonished  a  Havemeyer  *  to  wit- 
ness the  rapidity  with  which  the  "tapping"  was 
accomplished.  In  a  few  moments  the  surround- 
ing forest  seemed  sparkling  with  the  beauties  of 
the  rainbow,  and  echoing  the  music  of  falling 


*  Mr.  Havemeyer  is  the  autocrat  of  the  Sugar  Tru^t  of 
America  after  the  fashion  of  Mr.  Arbuckle,  the  Coffee  Baron. 
Under  the  chairmanship  of  a  committee  the  New  York  legis- 
lature, Senator  Luxow  investigated  the  Sugar  Trust  and  found 
Mr.  Havemeyer  controlled  four-fifths  of  the  entire  output  of 
sugar  in  America. 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  21 

waters,  each  tree  dripping,  dripping  with  a 
rapidity  suggestive  of  a  race  and  wager  held  by 
N at ure  for  the  one  that  first  filled  the  assigned 
trough  with  sparkling  gems. 

A  "r ?.</?"  of  sugar-water  was  not  dependent 
upon  a  special  act  of  Congress,  nor  was  the  pro- 
duct a  subject  for  public  revenue.  It  was  limited, 
however,  to  frosty  nights  and  warmer  days  ;  and 
when  a  number  of  consecutive  days  and  nights 
remained  above  or  below  freezing,  the  ^sugar- 
water^  would  cease  to  flow,  often  making  it 
necessary  to  remove  the  "spiles"  and  freshen  the 
auger-hole  at  the  next  run  to  insure  the  natural 
ability  of  the  tree. 

Sugar  manufactured  in  those  days  was  made 
from  the  black  maple  or  sugar  tree.  This  tree 
was  very  productive — in  an  ordinary  season 
would  run  ten  or  twelve  gallons  each  in  twenty- 
four  hours,  and  during  the  season  average  enough 
for  ten  to  fifteen  pounds  of  sugar — the  better 
trees  have  been  known  to  produce  over  fifty 
pounds  each  in  an  ordinary  season.  This,  how- 
ever, was  before  Congress  suspected  a  trust  and 
combine  would  be  a  good  thing  for  the  common 
people  or  got  up  the  Luxow  investigation  and 
whitewash  of  the  sugar  business  by  New  York. 
The  sugar  maker  knows  quite  well  the  kind  of 
days  he  could  obtain  a  run  of  "sugar-water," 
and  for  that  purpose  one  or  more  holes  were 
bored  into  the  tree  three  to  five  inches  deep,  and 


22  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

"spiles"  driven  in  to  conduct  the  fluid  into  the 
sugar- trough. 

The  "spiles"  that  conducted  the  water  from 
the  tree  to  the  trough  were  made  from  sections 
of  elder  or  sumac,  eight  or  ten  inches  in  length, 
shaved  down  to  the  pith  from  three  inches  of  one 
end,  which  formed  the  shoulder,  made  tapering  to 
close  the  au^er  hole  of  the  usual  size,  three- 

o  i 

fourths  of  an  inch.  The  pith  in  the  shoulder 
and  body  of  the  spile  was  removed  so  as  to  form 
a  channel  for  the  sugar-water  to  escape.  The 
sugar-trough  was  a  short  trough  two  to  four  feet 
long  made  of  some  light  wood,  as  the  white  wal- 
nut, and  were  carefully  charred  on  the  inside  or 
concavity  to  prevent  the  injury  of  the  delicate 
flavor  of  the  sugar.  Many  persons,  familiar 
with  higher  mathematics  and  languages  named 
in  the  curriculum  of  Yale  or  Harvard,  as  well  as 
words  and  phrases  used  in  athletic  games,  and 
manly  arts  of  self-defense,  would  be  turned  down 
if  asked  to  describe  or  name  the  uses  of  many, 
very  simple  things  to  an  Ohio  "squirrel  hunter" 
of  three  score  and  ten  years. 

No  doubt  there  are  many  more  persons  that 
have  seen  and  felt  the  great  Congressional  Sugar 
Trust  and  Combine  than  are  now  living  who  have 
seen  the  headquarters  of  one  of  those  primitive 
"sugar  camps,"  with  its  row  of  kettles  placed  over 
a  furnace — under  an  open  shed — parallel  with 
and  near  the  kettles  under  this  shed,  a  reservoir 
made  from  a  section  of  a  large  tulip  tree,  to  hold 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  23 

the  excess  of  gathered  water  during  the  day  for 
night  boiling — the  sled  and  mounted  barrel  with 
a  sugar-trough  funnel — the  annex  near  the  fur- 

O  O 

nace  to  obtain  light  and  heat,  with  other  prim- 
itive articles  or  things  connected  with  and  used 
in  the  manufacture  of  sugar. 

The  annex  or  temporary  residence  of  those 
running  the  camp  was  generally  a  strong  well- 
built  cabin  with  one  door,  but  no  window.  The 
door  occasionally  showed  a  want  of  confidence 
by  being  ornamented  with  a  heavy  padlock  and 
chain.  This  little  building  entertained  many  a 
jolly  crowd.  It  was  the  manufacturer's  office, 
storeroom,  parlor,  bedroom  and  restaurant.  It 
was  always  a  pleasant  place  to  spend  an  evening, 
and,  still  more,  a  delightfully-sweet  place  on  "stir- 
ring-off"  days — to  watch  the  golden  bubbles  burst 
in  air  and  with  noisy  efforts  rising  to  escape, 
driven  back  by  their  master  with  the  enchant- 
ment of  a  fat-meat  pill  and  made  to  dance  to 
the  tune  of  Yankee  Doodle  Dandy ;  for  then 
was  the  time  to  dip  and  cool  the  wooden  "paddle," 
and  taste  again  and  again  the  charming  sweet- 
ness of  maple  sugar  in  its  native  purity. 

But  in  less  than  a  century  sugar-trees,  sugar- 
troughs,  and  pioneer  sugar  making  have  been 
classed  with  things  of  the  past,  scarcely  known 
by  the  many,  and  remembered  but  by  a  few  ; 
and  shows  how  soon  time  makes  abandoned 
words  and  many  simple  expressions  of  facts 
obsolete  and  unknown.  When  it  is  said,  "In 


24  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

infancy  he  was  rocked  in  a  sugar-trough,''  the 
language  to  many  is  as  figurative,  hypothetical 
or  meaningless  as  the  "lullaby  upon  the  tree 
tops."  The  younger  generations  never  saw  the 
pioneer  cradle,  and  Noah  Webster  did  not  get 
far  enough  West  to  incorporate  the  word  in  his 
"Revised  Dictionary." 

The  ordinary  use  of  sugar-troughs  was  to  catch 
and  hold  the  sweet  water  as  it  dripped  from  the 
" spile"  placed  in  the  sugar-tree.  But  under 
certain  circumstances  good  specimens  were  de- 
voted to  other  purposes,  and  not  a  few  eminent 
lawyers,  doctors,  statesmen  and  divines  have 
proudly  referred  to  their  cradling  days  as  those 
having  been  well  spent  in  the  pioneer  environ- 
ment of  a  "sugar-trough." 

The  sugar  made  from  trees  was  gradual! v 
superseded  by  cane  and  beet  productions  ;  and 
the  supply  has  always  remained  equal  to  the 
demand  at  moderate  prices  ;  and  not  until  1887 
did  the  country  discover  the  necessity  of  a 
"Sugar  Trust"  to  control  and  regulate  the  trade 
of  the  United  States.  This  combine  started 
witli  a  capital  of  seven  million  dollars,  capital- 
ized at  fifty  millions,  and  again  was  watered  up 
to  seventy-five  millions.  This  trust  controlled 
four-fifths  to  ninety-eight  per  cent  of  all  the 
refined  sugar  in  the  United  States. 

The  president  of  this  trust  has  been  receiving 
an  annual  salary  of  one  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars and  the  secretary  seventy-five  thousand. 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  25 

The  stockholders  have  absorbed  as  dividends 
nearly  four  hundred  million  dollars  in  the  eleven 
years  of  its  existence,  while  thousands  of  its 
employes  obtain  but  six  dollars  a  week,  working 
twelve  hours  each  day  in  rooms  at  a  temperature 
not  much  below  two  hundred  degrees.  The  scales 
of  justice  are  not  often  evenly  balanced  in  trust 
monopolies  that  yield  a  net  income  of  five  hun- 
dred per  cent  profit  on  the  capital  invested. 

The  pioneer,  however,  had  no  use  for  "com- 
bines" to  keep  him  poor,  for  like  many  facts  not 
admitted  or  recognized  at  the  time,  good  subsist- 
ence was  so  easily  obtained  from  nature  that  it 
frequently  contributed  much  toward  creating  an 
indifference  for  labor,  which  remained  through 
life  and  kept  the  man  of  destiny  no  better  off 
than  when  he  arrived  at  his  new  home.  It  was 
no  easy  task  to  clear  the  land  and  prepare  the 
soil  for  agricultural  purposes.  As  a  rule  the 
timber  was  large  and  thickly  set  upon  the 
ground  ;  usually  the  best  soil  was  covered  with 
the  greatest  trees,  and  the  labor  required  for  their 
removal  was  not  inviting  to  those  who  could 
subsist  well  without  it.  The  white  oak,  burr 
oak,  black  oak,  black  walnut,  sycamore,  poplar, 
and  other  varieties,  had  for  centuries  been  add- 
ing size  and  strength  to  their  immense  pro- 
portions. These  giants,  and  the  smaller  timber 
and  undergrowth,  required  great  energy,  per- 
severance and  protracted  labor  to  remove  and 
3 


26  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

clear  the  ground  ready  for  a  crop.  The  usual 
plan  for  their  removal  was  by  "girdling,"  or 
cutting  a  circle  around  the  trunk  of  each  suffi- 
ciently deep  to  kill  the  tree,  and  then  to  burn  by 
piece-meals  as  the  branches  and  trunks  came 
down  by  reason  of  time  and  decay.  Conse- 
quently the  patch  of  sunshine  around  these 
primitive  homes,  as  a  rule,  did  not  enlarge  very 
rapidly,  and  the  pioneer  too  often  became  a  man 
of  procrastination  and  promise  ;  and  for  all  the 
time  he  had  (the  present)  preferred  the  dog  and 
gun.  to  the  maul  and  wedge  as  a  means  of  sub- 
sistence. Some,  however,  opened  up  small  fields 
and  farms  by  disposing  of  the  timber  in  this  slow 
way.  In  the  meantime,  while  the  process  of 
decay  was  going  on,  grain  and  vegetables  were 
grown  in  the  openings  among  the  dead  timber. 
The  crops  were  generally  divided  pretty  equally 
between  the  wild  animals  and  the  landlord.  This 
loss,  however,  was  of  no  great  importance  as 
there  was  no  money,  market,  or  mill ;  nor 
domestic  animals  to  take  a  surplus.  At  a  later 
day,  and  after  the  introduction  of  "movable 
mills,"  *  there  still  existed  no  market  for  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  soil,  and  to  grow  enough  for  food 
seemed  all  that  could  be  required  of  the  most 

*  Mills  erected  on  two  boats,  separated  at  an  angle,  with 
water  wheel  near  the  bow.  The  natural  current  of  the  stream 
passing  between  the  boats  turned  the  wheel  that  moved  the 
machinery  of  the  mill,  which  would  grind  twenty  to  forty 
bushels  of  corn  in  twenty-four  hours,  according  to  the  current 
of  the  stream. 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS. 


9.7 


ambitious  pioneer  ;  and  if  at  any  time  the  re- 
turns exceeded  the  estimates  and  insured  a  sur- 
plus, such  overabundance  seldom  went  to  waste, 
as  there  were  always  enough  who  yearly  came 
short  in  this  respect,  and  were  ready  to  share 
with  the  more  prosperous  neighbor. 

The  time  and  labor  expended  upon  clearing 
the  ground  and  raising  grain  met  with  little  or 
no  reward.  The  products  could  not  be  sold  nor 
exchanged  for  necessaries  of  life.  Consequently 
the  forests  remained  quite  undisturbed  for  many 
years  and  agriculture  neglected,  excepting  for  the 
necessary  consumption  of  the  family.  The  early 
settler,  however,  was  not  all  the  time  free  from 
discouragements.  His  domestic  animals  fre- 
quently became  lost,  or  destroyed  by  ravenous 
beasts  ;  and  diseases  of  the  country  occasionally 
were  protracted  ;  and  to  the  wife  and  children,  he 
sometimes  felt,  it  was  not  so  much  a  paradise. 
But  he  came  to  stay,  and  this,  for  better  or  for 
worse,  was  his  home,  and  submitted  philosoph- 
ically to  circumstances  and  events  he  could  not 
control. 

The  wife  and  mother  endured  with  patience 
and  heroism  all  privations  and  afflictions  equally 
with  the  husband  and  father,  and  performed  the 
arduous  household  duties  ;  and,  like  the  model 
woman  of  old,  "sought  wool  and  flax  and  worked 
willingly  with  her  hands,"  and  the  whirring 
spinning-wheel  and  thudding  loom  were  heard  in 
most  every  household.  The  welfare  of  the  fam- 


28  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

ily  depended  upon  the  success  of  home  industries, 
and  consequently  the  wife  had  much  less  leisure 
than  the  husband.  She  superintended  the  manu- 
facture of  all  the  fabrics  for  the  house  and  for 
the  clothing  of  the  family,  and  cut  and  made  up 
the  same  without  protection,  tariff,  rebate,  or 
combine.  And  it  is  singular  so  little  has  been 
recorded  of  the  good  women  who  unlocked  the 
resources  of  the  new  territory  and  gave  their  aid 
in  founding  a  civilization  that  has  surpassed  all 
precedents  in  the  history  of  nations. 

Natives  of  every  country  and  of  every  grade  of 
intelligence  in  the  new  environment  became  alike 
distinguished  for  liberality  and  hospitality — ever 
desirous  to  forget  the  past,  willing  to  admit  the 
future,  and  ready  to  enjoy  the  present,  the  life  of 
the  pioneer  was  seldom  darkened  or  overburdened 
with  toil  or  care,  and  had  times  of  good  cheer, 
and  was  not  without  his  social  amusements.  The 
violin  and  Monongahela  whisky  found  way  to 
the  settlements  and  were-  accepted  by  many, 
young  and  old  ;  and  the  dance  after  a  quilting, 
shooting-match,  fox-chase,  bear-hunt,  log-rolling, 
or  house-raising  gave  all  the  pleasure  and  excite- 
ment desired. 

As  the  population  became  more  numerous, 
leisure  and  the  desire  for  amusements  increased  ; 
and  among  the  many  ways  devised  to  entertain 
and  interest,  no  one,  perhaps,  ever  received  more 
attention,  higher  cultivation,  and  obtained  more 
general  favor  than  the  chase.  Most  descendants 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  29 

of  Virginia,  however  destitute  in  other  respect, 
had  their  packs  of  "hounds,"  and  the  good  people 
and  the  better,  the  poor  and  the  poorer,  some  on 
horse  and  some  on  foot,  mingled  alike  in  the  ex- 
citing sport. 

The  pedigrees,  qualities,  and  performances  of 
"lead  dogs"  of  different  owners  were  known  over 
the  country,  and  their  comparative  merits  were 
frequently  subjects  that  called  forth  the  warmest 
discussions,  the  disputants  generally  ending  the 
controversy  with  knock-down  arguments  on  both 
sides.  The  owners  of  the  dogs  always  manifested 
great  pride  and  satisfaction  in  public  praises  and 
good  will  toward  their  animals,  and  no  offense 
received  a  greater  condemnation  than  the  theft  or 
injury  of  one  of  these  "noblemen's  pets." 

Whenever  a  "pack"  failed  in  having  a  good 
"leader"  and  "poked,"  they  lost  their  reputation 
at  once  and  forever.  And  many  trips  were  made 
on  horseback  through  the  wilderness  over  the 
mountains  to  South  Branch,  or  other  points  in 
Virginia,  on  pretext  of  other  business,  when,  the 
real  purpose  proved  to  be  "fresh  blood,"  or  per- 
haps a  pack  of  dogs  that  could  take  the  front. 
They  were  brought  through  on  foot,  chained  one 
behind  another  in  double  file,  with  a  chain  be- 
tween, and  horse  in  front,  resembling  the  trans- 
portation of  surplus  of  the  "divine"  institution 
in  the  days  of  John  Brown.  New  importations, 
however,  did  not  often  give  satisfaction.  As  a 
rule,  the  dogs  of  the  finest  scent  and  greatest 


0<)  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

endurance  and  speed  were  bred  in  Ohio.  Such 
were  McNeal's  "Nick,"  Jordan's  "Sam,"  Ander- 
son's "Magnet,"  Renick's  "Pluto  the  Swift," 
McDowell's  "Yelp,"  Colonel  Vause's  "Clynch," 
and  a  host  of  others  that  never  saw  a  "bench- 
show,"  but  were  awarded  the  highest  praises  by 
men  who  filled  their  places  as  well  in  the  chase,  as 
many  of  them  did,  important  public  positions  in 
after  life.  And  in  the  written  history  of  these 
notable  contests  for  superiority  is  the  circum- 
stance, if  not  the  day,  when  Colonel  Vause's 
little  blue  hound,  his  lead  dog,  "Clynch,"  out- 
winded  and  distanced  all  the  other  "packs"  as 
well  as  his  own  companions,  and  pursued  the 
deer  alone  so  inveterately,  the  poor  animal,  con- 
fused or  to  confuse,  ran  to  the  town  of  Chillicothe 
and  into  the  open,  empty  jail,  and  was  there 
captured. 

But  of  all  the  dogs  known  to  have  taken  part 
in  amusing  the  people  of  des- 
tiny ;  or  aided  the  advancing 
strides  of  civilization,  none 
ever  attracted  such  universal 
attention,  and  enjoyed  that 

wide-spread  fame  as  that  given 
Strav  run. 

to    'Wbbs'  Mray  hip." 

Quite  early  in  the  fall,  when  as  yet  the  frosts 
had  but  slightly  tinted  the  woodland  foliage, 
some  hunters  while  after  turkeys,  saw  a  dog  in  hot 
pursuit  of  a  deer,  and  so  close  was  the  chase  that 
the  fatigued  animal  leaped  from  a  high  bank  into 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  31 

deep  water  in  Paint  Creek  and  expired  immedi- 
ately. This  dog  proved  to  be  a  little  half-starved, 
lemon,  black  and  white  pup,  not  more  than  seven 
months  old,  and  having  around  his  neck  a  section 
of  dilapidated  bed  cord.  Such  a  performance  by 
a  strange  pup  so  very  young  and  alone,  attracted 
no  little  attention  and  talk,  especially  among  the 
sporting  gentlemen,  who  kept  first-class  dogs,  and 
doted  more  upon  their  hounds  than  upon  their 
lands  and  houses.  Mr.  James  Gibbs  was  one  of 
these,  and  by  right  of  discovery,  took  the  pup  in 
charge  and  named  him  "Gamer."  The  dog 
proved  a  stray  in  the  settlement,  and  no  owner 
could  be  found,  and  mere  supposition  gave  a 
satisfactory  explanation.  "The  pup  had  broken 
away  from  an  emigrant  wagon  to  get  after  the 
deer." 

At  maturity,  true  to  instinct,  Gamer  refused  to 
follow  deer,  but  became  the  embodiment  of  all 
the  virtues  and  qualifications  of  a  thoroughbred 
fox-hound.  His  fleetness,  his  extraordinary  "co/r/ 
nose,"  or  ability  to  carry  a  "cold  trail  ;"  his  in- 
dustry, perseverance,  and  sagacity,  made  him  the 
model  and  marvel  of  all  who  knew  him.  He 
always  led  the  pack  far  in  advance,  and  so  exact 
was  he  to  hound  nature,  that  in  case  the  fox 
doubled  short  and  came  back  near  enough  to  be 
seen  and  turned  upon  by  all  the  other  dogs,  he 
would  continue  around  the  course  and  unravel 
every  winding  step .  His  voice  was  quite  as  marked 
and  remarkable  as  any  of  his  other  qualities  :  so 


32  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

much  so,  that  for  many  yearsit  lingered  in  the  ears 

of  surviving  friends  like  the  far-off  echo  of  an  Al- 
pine horn.  He  could  be  distinctly  heard  across  the 
great  valley,  bounded  east  by  the  Rattlesnake  and 
west  by  Patton  and  Stone  Monument  Hills,  a  dis- 
tance of  more  than  five  miles  in  an  air  line.  His 
cry  was  musical,  prolonged  and  varied,  opening 
with  a  deep  loud  bass,  and  closing  with  a  high, 
clear  note,  it  would  come  to  the  listener  sharp  and 
distinct,  solitary  and  alone,  when  the  united  cry 
of  all  the  pack  would  be  dead  in  the  distance. 

An  accurate  likeness  with  minute  discription  of 
this  dog  has  been  preserved — height,  above  the 
average  fox-hound  ;  length,  medium  ;  head,  long 
and  narrow  and  well  elevated  when  running ; 
under  jaw,  three-fourths  of  an  inch  short,  which 
gave  a  pointed  appearance  to  the  face  ;  eye,  in- 
tellectual and  gamy,  but  of  a  most  singular 
yellow  color  ;  ears,  long  and  thin,  but  not  wide  ; 
neck,  slim  and  clean ;  shoulders,  firm ;  chest, 
deep,  the  breast-bone  projecting  so  as  to  make  a 
perpendicular  offset  of  two  inches  ;  back,  quite 
straight  ;  loins,  not  wide  ;  hind  legs,  unusually 
straight;  hams,  thin,  fiat  and  tapering;  tail, 
slim,  medium  length,  little  curved,  and  hair  short 
towards  the  tip  ;  color,  white,  excepting  a  large 
black  spot  on  each  side  of  the  chest,  tipped  with 
lemon  ;  a  small  black  spot  joined  to  a  lemon  spot 
on  each  hip  or  root  of  the  tail,  lemon  head  and  ears, 
with  small  black  spot  behind  each  ear.  Alto- 
gether a  fine  appearing  dog,  especially  when  en- 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS. 


33 


Gamer. 


gaged  in  the  chase  :  and  before  two  years  old,  was 
held  in  high  esteem  by  the  owner. 

The  popularity  of  Gamer  was  now  fast  gaining 
ground,  as  his  performances  were  casting  shad- 
ows over  dogs  of 
high  repute,  and 
many  things  were 
attempted  to  si- 
lence the  repeated 
huzzahs  that  came 
in  at  the  end  of 
every  chase  for 
"Gibb's  Stray 
Pup."  Years 
rolled  on,  pack 
after  pack,  pick  after  pick  were  pitted  against  the. 
"pup"  to  no  purpose  excepting  to  widen  the 
difference  by  comparison. 

A  single  incident  taken  from  many  that  might 
be  given,  will  sufficiently  illustrate  the  superior 
qualities  of  this  remarkable  dog,  as  well  as  the 
usual  success  attendant  upon  the  efforts  to  de- 
tract from  his  merited  superiority  by  running 
picked  hounds  with  him  in  the  chase.  A  num- 
ber of  persons  in  every  neighborhood  kept  hounds, 
and  each  owner  considered  himself  the  possessor 
of  a  small  fortune,  consisting  at  least  of  one 
animal  that  was  considered  faster  and  truer  than 
any  one  belonging  to  a  neighbor  ;  and  it  was  an 
easy  matter  at  any  time  to  summon  on  short  no- 
tice fifteen  to  thirty  of  these  favorites  surrounded 


34  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

by  a  conflict  of  good  opinions.  On  the  llth  of  No- 
vember, 18 — ,  twenty  gentlemen,  some' of  whom 
afterwards  rose  to  high  political  and  judicial 
eminence  in  the  history  of  the  state  and  nation, 
met  by  agreement  and  entered  the  forest  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  morning  with  twelve  dogs,  the  pick 
of  the  best  packs  known  in  the  state.  The  at- 
mosphere was  still,  white  frost  hung  on  the  trees 
all  day;  the  ground  was  but  little  frozen,  and 
other  things  perhaps  conspired  to  make  it  favor- 
able, as  hunters  say,  "for  scent  to  lay." 

The  dogs  soon  struck  a  cold  trail,  perhaps 
where  the  fox  had  been  the  previous  evening,  and 
which  could  be  followed  but  slowly.  Before  mid- 
day, it  became  too  cold  for  all  the  dogs  excepting 
Gamer  and  two  old  hounds,  one  of  which  was  fa- 
mous for  his  "cold  nose.'  The  latter  dogs,  how- 

o      } 

ever,  were  unable  to  get  scent  excepting  in  fa- 
vorable places ;  and,  by  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  they  too  were  out,  and  no  longer  able 
to  render  assistance.  Gamer  still  kept  at  work 
trailing  Reynard's  footsteps  so  closely,  that  on  his 
way  he  entered  an  old  vacant  cabin,  declaring  most 
emphatically  that  Reynard  had  been  there,  show- 
ing that  even  on  the  dry  ground  and  probably 
more  than  ten  hours  after  the  presence  of  the 
animal,  there  was  enough  found  to  call  forth  a 
most  vigorous  cry. 

When  more  than  half  a  mile  from  this  cabin, 
the  trail  was  lost,  and  half  an  hour  was  consumed, 
with  all  the  dogs  in  circuits,  to  no  purpose. 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  35 

While  engaged  in  these  efforts  to  strike  the  track, 
the  wonderful  '"pup"  raised  his  voice  most  sig- 
nificantly at  the  very  spot  where  he  had  ceased 
his  cry.  He  had  discovered  the  track  and  com- 
menced a  rapid  backward  march  in  the  precise 
line  over  the  same  ground  he  had  passed  but  a 
short  time  before.  When  within  fifteen  or  twenty 
rods  of  the  old  vacant  cabin,  he  turned  off 
through  a  "deadning"  in  the  direction  of  Mount 
Logan,  showing  that,  notwithstanding  the  fox 
had  retraced  his  steps  for  a  long  distance,  the  sa- 
gacious hound  detected  the  fact  after  going  over 
the  ground,  and  that,  too,  when  the  trail  was  so 
very  cold  that  no  other  dog  in  the  chase  could 
take  the  scent. 

From  Mount  Logan  the  trail  was  leading 
through  thicker  timber,  and  Reynard  had  been 
zig-zagging  here  and  there,  in  search,  perhaps, 
of  birds  and  rodents  for  his  supper  the  night  be- 
fore, walking  on  logs  and  limbs  of  trees  when- 
ever near  his  intended  line  of  march.  Here,  the 
dog  quite  knowingly  changed  his  tactics,  and  for 
two  hours  ran  at  more  than  half  speed  from  log 
to  log,  right  to  left,  with  nose  close  to  the  bark 
and  decayed  wood,  as  he  rapidly  passed,  would 
let  out  his  encouraging  cry. 

In  this  way  he  followed  the  crooked  course 
until  the  close  of  the  day,  carrying  a  trail  for 
thirteen  hours,  which  the  fox  had  passed  at  no 
point  less  than  ten  hours  before,  following  it, 
too,  more  than  three  hours  after  the  best  and 


Jb  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

most  renowned  dogs  ever  in  Ohio  were  silent. 
It  was  now  dusk,  the  timber  sparse  and  logs  few, 
making  the  chances  seemingly  more  unfavorable. 
So,  the  hunters  who  had  been  on  the  go  for  fifteen 
hours,  and  without  the  substantial  of  life  for 
twenty-four  hours,  concluded  to  quit,  and,  calling 
the  dogs  to  follow,  turned  in  the  direction  of  the 
by-path  leading  toward  home.  All  the  dogs  were 
very  ready  to  obey,  excepting  Gamer,  who  only 
stopped  for  a  moment  to  gaze  at  his  retreating 
masters,  and  then  resumed  his  work,  in  which 
he  became  more  and  more  interested  as  the  day 
passed  on.  It  was  thought,  however,  he  would 
soon  quit  and  overtake  his  companions  ;"  but,  be- 
fore the  hunters  had  gone  a  mile,  Gamer's  start- 
ing cry  was  heard ;  he  had  winded  Reynard 
where  he  had  stopped  to  spend  the  day  high 
up  the  mountain  side.  Every  hound  knew  it 
was  no  cry  on  a  cold  trail,  and  turned  and  went 
off  at  the  top  of  their  speed.  Soon  Gamer  could 
be  heard  over  ridges  and  hills  far  away  ;  and  the 
hunters,  thinking  the  run  would  be  made  in  the 
broken  mountains,  went  home.  A  squirrel  hunter 
in  that  vicinity,  who  obtained  Reynard's  "brush," 
reported  the  fox  so  closely  pressed,  that  he  soon 
doubled,  came  back,  and  entered  a  hollow  log 
near  his  cabin,  and  was  captured.  The  time 
given  showed  the  run  was  finished  in  less  than 
an  hour  after  the  hunters  left. 

The  sense  called  "power  of  scent"  is   exceed- 
ingly delicate  in  the  dog,  enabling  him  to  follow 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  37 

the  course  of  one  animal  amid  a  multitude  of 
"tracks"  made  by  others  of  the  same  species. 
This  power  of  discrimination  is  frequently  mani- 
fest even  in  the  common  house-dog  as  he  traces 
the  footsteps  of  his  master  or  those  of  his  mas- 
ter's horse  through  crowded  thoroughfares  and 
winding  ways,  although  hundreds  of  similar  feet 
have  passed  over  the  ground  after  the  walk  of  the 


Our  Cabin,  1821. 

one  he  seeks  was  made.  But,  to  tell  any  one  but 
an  old  foxhunter  that  it  was  possible  to  find  per- 
fection in  a  dog  sufficiently,  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances,  to  run  all  day  on  a  trail  ten 
hours'  cold,  would  be  deemed  purely  chimerical. — 
Gamer  is  no  more. — James  Gibbs  has  long  been 
numbered  with  the  dead. — And  of  those  who  par- 
ticipated in  and  enjoyed  the  pleasures  of  that  day's 
chase  but  one  remains  a  living  witness  of  the  facts 


38  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

herein  stated  —  the  old  Roman  —  the  Hon.  Allen 
G.  Thurman.  —  It  is  a  notable  fact,  that  in  after 
years,  when  those  Ohio  boys  no  longer  resembled 
the  festive  hunter,  they  always  gave  a  smile  of 
pleasure  at  the  mention  of  those  merry  times  ; 
and,  even  in  old  age,  when  oppressed  with  the 
heavy  hand  of  time,  nothing  awakened  the  flush 
of  youthful  pride  and  satisfaction  like  the  re- 
hearsal of  the  deeds  of  the  hound  that  had  no 
equal  in  the  history  of  the  country  —  "G/66.s'  Strtty 


The  exterior  beauties  of  an  animal  are  always 
attractive.  But  more  than  these  do  we  admire 
those  qualities  termed  intelligence,  instinct,  and 
reason  in  their  beneficent  relations  to  man  and 
the  external  world.  The  dog  possesses  a  most 
wonderful  harmony  in  form  and  faculties.  He 
is  the  type  and  embodiment  of  beauty,  strength, 
and  freedom  of  motion  combined  with  endurance, 
courage,  zeal,  fidelity,  constancy,  and  uncompro- 
mising affection.  For  these  reasons  he  is  of  all 
man's  friends,  the  most  valuable,  the  truest,  and 
the  best.  So  devoted  and  unchangeable  is  his 
love,  that  he  is  ever  ready  to  sacrifice  his  life  to 
save  his  master  from  threatened  injury.  He 

long  remembers  a  kindness,  and  soon  forgives  ill 
o  ~ 

usage.     At  an  early  age  he  obtains  a  knowledge 

O  i/          C3  o 

of  the  meaning  of  words  in  the  language  of  his 
master,  and  understands  and  obeys  commands  ; 
and  with  that  retentive  memory  which  animals 
possess,  he  never  falters  or  forgets.  The  story  of 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  39 

Ulysses  and  his  favorite  is  but  the  citation  of  the 
tenacity  of  memory  which  belongs  to  the  species. 
After  twenty  years — 

"  Near  to  the  gates,  conferring  as  they  drew 
Argus,  the  dog  his  ancient  master  knew, 

And  not  unconscious  of  the  voice  and  tread, 
He  knew  his  lord,  he  knew,  and  strove  to  meet; 
In  vain  he  strove  to  crawl  and  kiss  his  feet; 
Yet,  all  he  could,  his  tail,  his  ears,  his  eyes 
Salute  his  master  and  confess  his  joys." 

From  prince  to  beggar,  all  the  same — the  only 
friend  neither  misfortune  nor  poverty  can  drive 
away.  He  is  watchful  and  bold,  and  with  de- 
light guards  his  master's  house  and  herds  from 
thieves  and  rapacious  animals,  and  by  his  various 
services  has  accomplished  for  man's  happiness 
and  advancement  in  civilization  more  than  all 
other  agencies  combined.  Without  this  aid,  man 
would  scarcely  have  maintained  his  existence  on 
earth.  "When  he  had  'evolved'  to  the  ape,''* 
and  "for  safety  lived  in  tree-tops  with  monkeys 
and  squirrels/'  his  security  and  advancement 
was  not  so  probably  due  to  the  suggestive  "club'' 
as  to  training  of  dogs,  which  is  given  by  the  great 
naturalist,  Buffon,  as  the  first  art  invented  by 
man. 

By  means  of  dogs,  the  rapacious  animals  com- 
mon to  new  or  uninhabited  countries  are  cap- 
tured or  driven  to  the  rear  of  advancing  popula- 
tion. Almost  every  emigrant  in  the  earlier  set- 

*  Prof.  Drummond. 


40  T1IK    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

tlements  of  Ohio,  from  necessity,  became  more 
or  less  a  hunter  with  dogs,  not  only  to  provide 
for  the  family,  but  as  a  profit  in  ridding  the 
locality  of  thieving  varments  with  which  the 
forests  were  overrun.  The  pelts  of  fur  animals 
were  a  legal  tender,  and  were  received  as  con- 
tributions and  payment  of  debts.  And  the  bark 
of  the  industrious  dog  was  in  this  way  trans- 
formed into  literary  and  religious  institutions  of 
the  country.  And  if  not  for  his  dogship,  the 
"North-west"  would  be  a  wilderness  still,  in- 
habited by  wild  animals.  The  great  naturalist 
says:  "To  determine  the  importance  of  the 
species  in  the  order  of  nature,  let  us  suppose  it 
never  had  existed.  Without  the  assistance  of  the 
dog,  how  could  man  be  able  to  tame  and  reduce 
other  animals  into  slavery?  How  could  he  dis- 
cover, hunt,  and  destroy  noxious  and  savage 
beasts?  To  preserve  his  own  safety,  and  to  ren- 
der himself  master  of  the  animated  world,  it  was 
necessary  to  make  friends  among  those  animals 
whom  he  found  capable  of  attachment  to  oppose 
them  to  others  ;  therefore,  the  training  of  clogs 
seems  to  have  been  the  first  art  invented  by  man, 
and  the  first  fruit  of  that  art  was  the  conquest 
and  peaceable  possession  of  the  earth. 

Many  species  of  animals  have  greater  agility, 
swiftness,  and  strength,  as  well  as  greater  cour- 
age than  man.  Nature  has  furnished  them 
better.  And  the  dog  not  only  excels  in  these, 
but  also  in  the  senses — hearing,  seeing,  and 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  41 

smelling  ;  and  to  have  gained  possession  over  a 
tractable  and  couragious  species  like  the  dog, 
was  acquiring  new  or  additional  agility,  swift- 
ness, strength,  and  courage  with  a  mysterious 
increase  of  power  and  usefulness  of  the  more  im- 
portant senses.  And  by  the  friendship  and  su- 
perior faculties  of  the  dog,  man  became  per- 
manently sovereign  and  master  of  all. 

"The  dog  is  the  only  animal  whose  talents  are 
evident,  and  whose  education  is  always  success- 
ful." * 

No  better  picture,  portraying  the  noble  quali- 
ties of  the  dog  could  be  given  than  that  by 
Buff  on.  And  why  this  close  observer  of  nature 
should  say — "Without  having  like  man  the  fac- 
ulty of  thought,"  has  always  seemed  strange.  It 
sounds  like  a  misprint,  or  an  error  in  translation. 
Thought  is  the  exercise  of  the  mind — reflection, 
meditation,  consideration,  conception,  conclusion, 
judgment,  design,  purpose,  intention,  solicitude, 
anxious  care,  concern,  etc. 

Who  is  there,  even  with  ordinary  acquaint- 
ance with  the  animal,  that  has  not  witnessed 
some  if  not  all  these  attributes  of  "tlioiight?"1  Most 
writers  on.  the  subject  have  shown  a  desire  to 
give  the  human  animal  some  distinguishing 
quality  or  faculty  above  all  others,  but  their  line 
of  demarcation  between  man  and  the  rest  of 


Buffon. 

4 


42  THE     SQUTRRKL    HUNTERS. 

animal  creation  has  not  boon  altogether  success- 
ful, as  man  can  not  claim  by  the  high  author- 
ity that  he  is  the  only  species  that  has  the 
something  called  ".sy>m£,"  which  is  necessary  in 
order  "to  think;'1'1  for  the  sacred  book  teaches 
that  man  and  beast  are  alike  in  this,  but  the 
spirit  of  man  goeth  upward,  while  the  spirit  of 
the  beast  goeth  downward  to  the  earth,  and 
which  in  anti-bellum  days  constituted  a  knotty 
text  for  Southern  theologians  who  taught  that 
"niggers  and  rfor/.s-"  have  no  souls. 

An  eminent  Scotch  clergyman,  who  has 
made  a  study  of  natural  history  believes  that 
dogs  are  possessed  of  the  same  faculties  as  man, 
differing  only  in  degrees.  He  asserts  that  con- 
science in  man  and  conscience  in  the  dog  are  es- 
sentially the  same  things.  And  Charles  Dickens 
declares  that  dogs  have  a  moral  nature — an  un- 
mistakable ability  to  distinguish  between  right 
and  wrong,  which  led  him  to  believe  the  cliffer- 
erence  in  the  dog  nature  and  the  so-called  spir- 
itual nature  in  man  was  imperceptible,  and  that 
future;  existence  rested  upon  like  natural  founda- 
tions. 

It  would  bo  holding  conclusions  in  opposition  to 
all  rules  of  observation  to  say  that  dogs  and  other 
animals  are  destitute  of  the  faculty  of  "thought.'1'1 
When  the  awful  torrents  came  sweeping  down 
upon  Johnstown  the  terrible  waves  and  debris 
dashed  over  housetops  and  Mrs.  Kress  was  car- 
ried away  by  the  wild  current  in  an  instant  be- 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  43 

yond  human  help,  her  faithful  dog,  unmindful 
of  himself,  jumped  after  her,  and  when  he  saw 
her  dress  come  to  the  surface,  seized  and  carried 
her  to  another  housetop.  Soon  this  house  was 
demolished,  but  Romeo  kept  the  head  of  Mrs. 
Kress  out  of  water  and  battled  with  the  raging 
current  and  floating  timber  for  more  than  half 
an  hour  before  he  readied  the  roof  of  another 
house,  where  she  was  taken  up  unconscious  with 
flight  and  exhaustion.  When  the  dog  saw  the 
motionless  condition  of  his  mistress  he  barked 
and  howled  and  made  pitiful  demonstrations  of 
grief,  for  he  "thought"  she  was  dead;  but  when 
she  breathed  he  became  delighted  and  manifested 
his  joy  in  a  way  that  could  not  be  mistaken. 

For  eight  summers  a  little  cocker  spaniel 
(Archos)  was  daily  with  the  writer  in  field  and 
forest,  and  to  his  industry  and  sagacity  is  due  no 
small  part  of  the  success  in  obtaining  fresh 
specimens  for  the  life  size,  hand-colored  work  by 
Mrs.  N.  E.  Jones,  entitled,  "The  Illustrations  of 
the  Nests  and  Eggs  of  Birds  of  Ohio."  Many 
of  the  rare  small  birds  build  on  or  near  the 
ground  in  thick  cover,  and  among  those  he  was 
credited  with  finding  may  be  mentioned  the  ob- 
scure nest  and  eggs  of  the  Helminthophaga 
pinus — Blue-winged  yellow  warbler,  and  the 
nest  of  the  Geothlypistrichas — Maryland  yellow- 
throat.  He  knew  the  object  of  pursuit  as  well 
as  his  master,  and  delighted  in  finding  these  lit- 
tle homes,  and  would  stand  firmly  on  a  point,  as 


44  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

it  was  understood  between  us  that  the  bird  must 
be  shot  when  flushed  for  positive  identification. 
He  knew  what  his  master  was  doing,  for  lie  un- 
derstood the  meaning  of  almost  all  words  used  in 
ordinary  conversation,  and  could  transact  busi- 
ness on  orders  with  admirable  accuracy. 

While  out  with  a  friend  quail  shooting,  the 
sun  was  warm  and  we  sat  down  on  the  cool  grass 
in  a  fence  corner  shaded  by  the  dead  leaves  on 
an  oak  bush.  The  little  cocker  was  panting  with 
heat  and  enjoyed  the  shade  quite  as  much  as  his 
master.  Soon  a  voice  was  heard  from  my  friend, 
on  the  opposite  border  of  a  large  field,  calling: 
"Send  Archos  over  here.  I  have  a  dead  bird 
my  dog  can't  find."'  The  cocker  paid  no  attention 
to  the  call,  and  no  reply  was  made  by  the  writer. 
And  to  show  how  much  a  dog  may  acquire 
of  the  meaning  of  words  in  a  few  years,  I  said 
to  Archos  in  a  conversational  tone,  as  he  ceased 
panting  and  fixed  his  great  dark  eyes  on  the 
speaker:  "Ed  has  lost  a  dead  bird — he  can  not 
find  it;  you  go  over  and  get  it/'  No  sooner 
said  than  the  little  fellow  started  off  in  the  tall 
ragweed  which  covered  the  field,  and  unknown 
to  my  friend  scented  the  dead  bird  and  brought 
it  and  laid  it  at  my  feet,  all  the  time  smiling  and 
wagging  the  tail,  as  much  as  to  say,  "I  would 
like  to  tell  you  how  nicely  that  was  done,  but  1 
can't  talk — dare  not." 

Bab  says  :  "Away  back  in  some  old  book  there 
is  a  story  how  dogs  used  to  talk,  and  were  men's 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  45 

advisers.  One  day  a  great  prince  met  a  beauti- 
ful woman,  and  despite  of  the  advice  of  the  dog 
who  was  his  counselor,  he  married  her,  and  he 
made  her  cousin,  a  beggar,  his  prime  minister. 
Amid  the  festivities,  the  dog  warned  the  prince 
to  watch  the  woman,  told  the  prince  that  she  was 
unfaithful,  that  her  cousin  was  her  lover,  and 
that  between  them  they  would  rob  the  kingdom 
and  drive  him  from  the  throne.  He  turned  on 
the  dog  and  cursed  him — cursed  him  so  that  this 
good  friend,  looking  at  the  prince,  said  :  'Until 
men  are  grateful  and  women  are  faithful,  I  and 
my  kind  will  never  speak  again.'  ' 

The  world  has  grown  older  and  better,  but  for 
the  peace  of  society  and  quiet  of  social  relations, 
it's  well  he  still  holds  his  tongue.  Professor 
Garner,  who  lias  devoted  much  time  to  the  study 
of  animals  in  this  country  and  in  Africa,  has  con- 
firmed the  general  observation  of  those  familiar 
with  rural  life  to  be  true  :  that  cattle — as  horses, 
sheep,  hogs  and  other  animals — talk  among  their 
kind.  What  there  is  to  -be  detected  in  the  man- 
ner of  delivery  of  the  same  sound,  giving  out 
entirely  different  sensations,  is  yet  to  be  discov- 
ered. The  squeal  of  the  hungry  pig,  repeated 
by  the  phonograph,  only  increases  the  hunger 
and  squeal  of  the  pig  that  hears  it ;  while  to  re- 
peat the  similar  squeal  of  a  pig  in  pain,  at  oiice 
causes  manifest  fear,  anger  and  distress  in  all 
the  pigs  that  hear  it.  And  it  must  be  so — all  do- 
mestic animals  do  think  and  reason,  and  not  un- 


40  THE    S<iUIRRKL    IIl'XTKKS. 

often  are  enabled  to  make  tlieir  thoughts  known 
by  signs  and  sounds  to  those  to  whom  they  look 
for  help  and  comfort  other  than  tlieir  kind. 

Dogs  are  utilized  extensively  in  Germany  and 
other  parts  of  Europe  as  draft  animals.  The 
United  States  consul  says,  in  the  large,  wealthy 
and  industrial  city  of  Leige,  and  throughout  Bel- 
gium, dogs  are  used  for  delivery  of  goods  by  all 
the  trades  of  the  city.  While  they  are  used  as 
hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water,  the  species 
is  the  most  versatile  in  talents  of  the  animal 
creation — and  the  dog  makes  the  most  accurate 
critic,  the  most  successful  detective,  most  reliable 
witness,  best  sentinel  and  most  trustworthy 
friend. 

Persons  do  not  stop  to  think  there  is  a  world 
of  intelligence,  love  and  affection  outside  the 
human  head  and  heart,  and  innocently  ask, 
"What  makes  the  dog  heed  every  word  when 
his  master  says  'you  can  not  go  with  me  this 
time?'  What  makes  him  place  himself  at  the 
most  observing  point  and  look  wistfully  after  his 
departing  friends  until  they  disappear  in  the 
distance?  Why  does  he  stay,  perchance  all 
day,  at  a  favorable  point  to  hear  or  see  a  return- 
ing approach,  anxiously  waiting  and  watching, 

O  11.  «,'  O  O 

and  at  the  well-known  and  accurately  distin- 
guished sounds  of  the  footsteps  of  his  master's 

O  *- 

horse  from  all  others,  runs  to  meet  his  master, 
and  barks  and  laughs  and  cries  with  joy  and 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  47 

gladness?"     The    beneficence    of    creation    gives 
the  answer  in  a  world  of  unselfish  love. 

Dogs  know  nothing  of  hypocracy — are  always 
sincere — never  lie — dislike  ridicule — and  never  ac- 
cept nor  offer  a  joke. 

The  dog  has  been  recognized  as  valuable1  prop- 
erty by  his  owner  in  every  age,  nation  and  people 
on  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  but  with  no  staple 
market  price  any  more  than  there  is  for  that  of 
the  horse.  The  consideration  is  determined  by 
amount  of  education,  usefulness  or  purposes 
which  he  is  capable  of  fulfilling. 

Colonel  D.  D.  Harris,  of  Mendon,  Michigan, 
refused  more  than  once  ten  thousand  dollars  for 
his  famous  sable  Scoth  Collie.  He  was  a  dog 
of  such  note,  with  the  refined  people  of  the 
world,  that  he  was  privileged  to  walk  through 
the  Vatican,  and  was  entertained  by  the  President 
of  France — the  Czar  of  the  Russias — the  King 
of  Norway  and  Sweden,  and  other  nobility  of 
the  old  world.  President  Cleveland  stroked  his 
glossy  coat,  and  he  received  the  most  grateful 
attention  among  all  the  courts  visited  in  this  and 
in  other  countries. 

This  Collie  was  never  on  public  exhibition, 
but  was  the  traveling  companion  of  his  owner. 
He  could  select  any  card  called  for  in  the  deck— 
if  not  there,  would  say  so  by  giving  a  whine — 
could  distinguish  colors  as  well  as  any  human 
being  ;  and  could  count  money  and  make  change 
with  the  rapidity  and  accuracy  of  an  expert  bank 


48  THK    SQUIRREL    HITNTKRS. 

accountant.  If  tolcl  to  make  change  of  $31.31, 
or  any  other  amounts  from  coins  of  various  de- 
nominations, lie  could  do  so  rapidly  and  without 
mistake.  This  intelligent  dog  lived  out  his  al- 
lotted brief  existence,  dying  at  the  age  of  four- 
teen years  ;  but  was  better  known  than  thous- 
ands of  men  who  have  lived  much  longer, 
thinking  themselves  quite  eminent. 

If  dogs  are  not  valuable  property  why  are  they 
exchanged  at  high  rates  in  dollars  and  cents? 
Why  did  Mr.  E.  K.  Sears,  of  Melrose,  Mass., 
part  with  his  twelve  thousand  five  hundred  dol- 
lars in  "greenbacks"  for  the  dog  Bedivere?  It 
may  be  said  the  one  who  purchased  a  dog  at  that 
price  was  "green" — if  said,  it  would  be  a  mis- 
take, for  Green  was  the  gentleman  who  sold 
him. 

The  greater  part  of  the  early  population  of 
Ohio  associated  with  dogs  much  of  their  time, 
and  with  good  results.  But  the  law-makers  of 
the  state,  or  a  majority,  had  a  penchant  for  self- 
elevation  by  legislating  against  those  they  feared 
as  rivals — "dogs  and  niggers."  Consequently, 
"Black  laws"  and  dog  laws  engrossed  the  time 
and  talents  of  law-makers,  who  felt  measurably 
unsafe  unless  the  former  were  excluded  as  prop- 
erty and  the  latter  deprived  of  citizenship. 

The  sensitive,  if  not  infallible,  Supreme  Court 
has  recently  given  the  property  rights  and  pro- 
tection of  the  dog  a  bad  set-back  in  the  decision 
that  "dogs  are  not  property,"  and  outside  of 


EARLY    SETTLEMENTS.  49 

property  it  would  seem  there  can  be  no  owner- 
ship. But  as  decisions  of  the  learned  court  are 
not  required  to  be  accepted  in  silence  by  the 
canine  species,  this  one  affecting  their  rights  is 
enough  to  make  every  dog  of  high  and  low  de- 
gree, from  Maine  to  California,  rise  up  with  a 
prodigious  howl  of  contempt. 

The  logic  by  which  the  high  court  was  en- 
abled to  enunciate  its  decision  is  quite  as  remark- 
able as  the  decision  itself.  It  would  seem  the 
learned  court  divided  the  animal  creation  into 
two  parts — "useful  and  useless,''  and  subdivided 
these  into  "wild  and  domestic  beasts  ;"  and  then 
states:  "Dogs  belong  to  the  non-useful,  wild 
animal  division."  Ergo  :  "Wild  animals,  as  dogs 
which  have  been  domesticated,  are  therefore 
property  only  wliile  in  actual  custody" — which 
means  in  arms,  cages,  or  confinement.  An  able 
critic,  and  a  very  well-informed  lawyer,  says  : 
"Any  respectable  court  would  laugh  at  the  prop- 
osition that  it  is  not  theft  to  appropriate  a  dia- 
mond which  lias  escaped  from  the  owner's  cus- 
tody." But  that  is  another  kind  of  cow — tin- 
poor  liave  dogs,  not  diamonds.  Still  the  learned 
man  is  to  be  admired  who  said  : 

"I  like  dogs  because  I  know  so  many  men  and 
women. 

"I  like  dogs  because  they  always  see*  mv  vir- 
tues and  ignore  my  vices. 

"I  like  dogs  because  they  are  friends  through 
5 


50  THK    SQUIRREL    HTNTKRS. 

good  report  and  evil  report — through  poverty  and 
through  riches. 

"I  like  dogs  because  they  are  faithful  and  gen- 
erous. 

"I  like  dogs  because  they  are  full  of  simplicity 
and  find  pleasure  in  very  little  things." 

The  population  of  the  early  settlements  of  Ohio 
bought  and  sold  dogs,  and  considered  them  as 
much  property  as  horses,  cattle,  or  other  person- 
alty. They  were  not  purchased  by  the  pound  ; 
neither  were  hogs  nor  cattle.  Among  traders  of 
the  rural  districts,  every  thing  weighing  over  five 
hundred  pounds  was  bought  and  sold  upon  ap- 
pearance and  opinion,  by  the  piece. 

Where  the  price  caused  a  disagreement  be- 
tween buyer  and  seller,  some  mutual  friend,  who 
had  obtained  a  good  reputation  as  guesser,  would 
be  called  as  an  arbiter.  Fattened  cattle  to  go  east, 
purchased  by  "drovers,"  were  never  weighed,  but 
were  taken,  like  horses,  at  a  given  sum  per  head. 
Fattened  hogs,  however,  were  generally  weighed, 
by  request  of  the  purchaser.  Each  hog  would  be 
suspended,  and  weight  determined  by  the  "steel- 
yard," and  then  branded  with  a  redhot  iron  on 
the  left  ham.  This  done,  the  squealing  prisoner 
would  surrender  his  place  and  attentions  of  the 
audience  to  the  next,  and  so  on,  until  the  whole 
drove  became  duly  registered.  But  farmers  trad- 
ing among  themselves,  buying  and  selling  stock. 
depended  entirely  upon  their  sight  and  judgment 
as  to  the  valuation. 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,  AND    POLITICAL.          55 

Guernsey,  Pickaway,  Coshocton,  Muskingum, 
Perry,  Fail-field  and  Franklin.  Donation  Tract 
is  100,000  acres  in  the  north  part  of  Washington 
county,  granted  to  the  Ohio  Company  by  Con- 
gress. The  Symraes  Tract  of  311,682  acres  was 
granted  to  John  Cleves  Sy mines,  of  New  Jersey, 
in  1794,  for  sixty-seven  cents  an  acre.  The  land 
lies  between  the  two  Miami  rivers.  Mr.  Symmes's 
daughter  married  General  Win.  Henry  Harrison, 
and  was  the  grandmother  of  ex-President  Har- 
rison the  II. 

The  Refugee  Lands  is  a  grant  of  100,000  acres. 
It  lies  along  the  Scioto  river,  and  the  city  of  Co- 
lumbus stands  upon  this  land,  granted  by  Con- 
gress to  be  given  to  persons  driven  out  of  the 
British  provinces  during  the  Revolutionary  War. 

The  French  Grant  consists  of  24,000  acres  in 
Scioto  county,  and  given  by  Congress  after  the 
fashion  of  hush  money. 

The  Dorhman  Grant  is  a  tract  of  23,000  acres 
in  Tuscarawas  county,  given  by  Congress  to  a 
Portuguese  merchant. 

The  Virginia  Military  Lands  were  located  on 
the  west  of  the  Scioto  river.  The  amount  of  the 
grant  in  acres  has  never  been  known.  There  are 
fifteen  counties  in  the  tract  and  much  of  it  has 
never  been  surveyed.  This  body  of  land  was  re- 
served by  Virginia  to  pay  her  soldiers  who  Avere 
in  the  Revolution  without  compensation  or  pay. 
When  it  was  determined  by  Congress  to  pay  the 
soldiers  in  land,  each  original  settler  marked  his 


5t>  TMK    SOJ'IRKKI,    III  NTKKS. 

own  boundaries  with  a  hatchet,  and  made  a  good 
liberal  guess  tbat  tbe  area  witbin  bis  lines  would 
cover  tbe  acres  given  in  bis  warrant. 

Tbe  Moravian  Grant  was  4,000  acres  in  Tus- 
carawas  county.  Besides,  many  other  donations 
were  made  for  roads  and  other  purposes,  making 
a  total  of  over  eight  million  acres,  tbe  greater 
part  of  which  went  to  creditors  of  the  Govern- 
ment. Land  was  the  only  thing  the  Tnited 
States  had  available  to  cancel  the  war  obliga- 
tions, and  soldiers  and  others  gladly  accepted 
land  certificates  in  lieu  of  those  of  silver  or 
gold. 

Land  in  body  was  more  desirable  than  town 
lots.  When  Chillicotbe  was  made  capital  of  the 
territory  it  had  about  twenty  cabins  promiscu- 
ously located  among  the  timber,  which  had  not 
yet  been  cut  down  to  designate  tbe  streets.  Tbe 
State  House  was  constructed  in  1SOO  by  an  old 
revolutionary  soldier,  Win.  Kutledge,  and  re- 
mained the  capitol  until  IS  10,  when  it  was  per- 
manently located  at  Columbus,  Franklin  county. 
The  removal  of  the  capital  injured  greatly  the 
prospects  and  business  of  Chillicothe  for  many 
years,  and  secured  leisure  to  its  citizens,  who  en- 
gaged in  various  innocent  amusements  for  killing 
time — in  fact,  lingered  with  scarcely  a  symptom 
of  lysis  until  after  the  "Literary,  Astronomical 
and  Natural  History  Society"  commenced  the 
publication  and  distribution  of  that  illustrated 
periodical  (yearly),  known  and  remembered  to 


EDUCATIONAL,    SOCIAL,    AND   POLITICAL.  01 

broken  out  with  the  idea  of  a  holiday — in  parts 
of  two  days — Christmas  and  New  Year. 

There  seemed  to  be  no  way  to  treat  it  other 
than  to  let  it  have  its  regular  course.  It  al- 
Avays  came  with  a  specific  demand  upon  the 
teacher,  of  which  the  following  well-preserved 
pattern  specimen  embraces  the  material  points 
of  others,  varying  only  in  quantity  and  quality, 
with  locality  and  circumstances  : 

" December    23,    1817. 
MR.  JOHN  ROBINSON  (Teacher)  — 

Sir: — We  the  undersigned  committee,  in  behalf 
of  the  unanimous  voice  of  the  scholars  of  your 
school,  demand  that  you  treat,  according  to 
custom,  to  the  following  articles  in  amount 
herein  named,  to  wit  : 
200  ginger  cakes, 

2  bushels  of  hickory  nuts, 
1  peck  hazle  nuts, 
10  pounds  of  candy, 
10  pounds  raisins, 

delivered  at  the  school  house,  noon  hour,  Decem- 
ber 25,  for  the  enjoyment  and  pleasant  remem- 
brance of  this  school.  If  this  meets  your 
approbation  you  will  please  sign  and  return  the 
paper  to  John  Kelley  to-morrow,  December  24, 
at  noon,  saying,  over  your  signature,  "I  agree 
to  the  above/' 

JOHN  KELLEY,  } 

JAMES   BROWN,  v  Committee. 

WILLIAM   SMALLWOOD,  ) 


62  TIIK    sqriKKKL    III  NTKKS. 

Occasionally  a  teacher  not  fond  of  fun  or  fear- 
ful of  exposure,  would  at  once  sign  these  mod  •* 
demands,  and  would  join  in  with  the  children  at 
noon  on  Christinas,  and  again  on  New  Year's 
day,  and  have  a  long  to  he  remembered  pleasant 
jollification.  But  by  far  the  greater  number  of 
teachers  preferred  a  little  preliminary  skirmish- 
ing before  acceding  to  the  peremptory  demand. 
When  the  above  bill  of  fare  was  handed  the 
teacher  just  before  dismissal  on  the  evening  of 
the  2od,  he  glanced  over  the  contents  and  com- 
menced tearing  the  paper  into  small  fragments. 
And  it  was  said  this  meant  deiiance. 

The  next  morning  was  cold,  with  deep  fall  of 
snow  during  the  night  ;  but  all  the  larger  bovs 
were  inside  of  the  school  house  with  a  hot  lire  and 
armed  with  ropes  and  strings,  and  plentvof  wood 
and  provisions  to  withstand  a  siege,  before  it  was 
yet  light.  All  the  openings  were  barricaded  with 
the  benches,  which  consisted  of  heavy  "pun- 
cheons," with  wooden  pins  driven  in  on  the  convex 
side  for  legs.  One  after  another  of  the  children 
came  and  were  admitted,  and  when  the  teacher 
arrived,  he  found  the  house  (cabin)  full  of  jolly 
boys  and  girls,  but  could  not  himself  enter. 

After  many  ineil'ectual  ell'orts  to  obtain  admis- 
sion, he  started  homeward.  This  was  the  signal 
for  the  boys,  and  the  yelping,  whooping  crowd  of 
all  sixes  and  ages  of  minors,  broke  camp  and  gave 
chase.  Robinson  is  described  as  an  athletic 
specimen  of  vigorous  manhood,  and  delighted 


L,   SOCIAL,   AM)  POLITICAL.  G3 

in  sr>"^.  and  concluded  to  give  the  boys  a 
^l^viiase  through  the  forest  and  unbroken 
snow.  He  led  the  gang  quite  easily  for  a  short 
time,  but  after  several  miles'  running  the  boys 
captured  and  overpowered  the  fleeing  despot. 
Finding  resistance  useless  he  submitted  to  be 
tied  and  roped  down  securely  to  pieces  of  tim- 
ber on  either  side  with  face  in  the  direction  of 
the  clouds.  The  burial  ceremony  was  performed 
by  asking  compliance,  and  marching  around  his 
body,  singing  funeral  dirges,  and  piling  snow 
upon  his  person. 

A  monument  of  snow  was  soon  erected  with  an 
opening  for  breathing  and  conversation.  He  did 
not  hold  out  long,  and  by  pledging  his  honor  the 
bill  of  fare  should  be  on  hand,  and  no  punishment 
or  ill-will  entertained  for  the  usage  received,  the 
prisoner  was  released,  and  all  returned  to  the 
school-house,  spelled  for  head,  and  were  regu- 
larly dismissed  for  home. 

The  next  day  at  noon  a  cart-load  of  good  things 
arrived  with  those  specified ;  and  children  and 
parents  enjoyed  the  feast,  after  which  there  was 
an  old-fashioned  spelling-match,  and  all  went 
home  to  remember  with  pleasure  the  Christmas 
of  1817.  And  at  this  writing  (1895)  only  one  of 
that  jolly  crowd  is  known  to  be  living,  and  from 
whom  the  above  reminiscences  have  been  ob- 
tained. 

The  country  was  so  thinly  settled  it  was  often 
difficult  to  make  up  a  school  (fifteen),  owing  to 


()4  TIIK     S(jriRKKL    UTNTKH 

distance  from  the  school  cabin,  an  it  was 
common  practice  for  those  most  inttn-siea,  usu- 
ally two  or  three  neighbors,  to  "sign"  for  their 
own  children  and  enough  more  out  of  the  range 
to  make  up  the  required  number.  And  often,  in 
order  to  secure  them,  agreeing  to  pay  the  tuition 
and  to  board  them  during  attendance.  And  so 
far  as  the  advantages  of  these  schools  were  to  be 
obtained,  the  boys  and  girls  shared  alike.  But  if 
unable  to  afford  the  expense  for  both,  the  boys 
generally  got  the  schooling. 


Ohio  School-house.1  from  17W>  to  1S40. 

The  school-house  was  usually  located  in  the 
woods.  The  building  was  of  round  logs,  and 
presented  the  appearance  of  very  little  comfort, 
either  without  or  within,  The  floor  was  of  mother 
earth  ;  the  ceiling  above,  the  underside  of  the 
roof  ;  a  number  of  rude  benches  ;  a  few  puncheon 
shelves,  and  a  huge  fire-place,  constituted  the 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND  POLITICAL.  65 

necessary  arrangement  of  the  interior.  It  was 
known  as  the  school-house,  although  used  as 
a  place  to  hold  elections,  lectures,  debating  so- 
cieties, and  singing-schools. 

But  notwithstanding  the  loss  of  an  endowment 
much  needed  in  primitive  times,  and  the  restric- 
tion of  subscription  schools  from  existing  pov- 
erty, and  tli at  the  log-cabin  school-houses  stood 
empty  for  long  periods,  there  was  no  effeminacy 
in  the  desire  for  knowledge,  for  where  there  is  a 
will  there  is  a  way,  and  volumes  might  be  filled 
with  learned  and  illustrious  names  who  were 
once  rocked  in  a  "sugar-trough,"  and  took  their 
first  lessons  in  "7?/v/.s7<  College. ^ 

It  was  in  this  environment  the  scientist,  states- 
man, and  divine  obtained  that  self-confidence  and 
industry  which  leads  to  high  and  honored  sta- 
tions and  has  made  the  North-west  a  perpetual 
eclipsing  shadow  upon  all  other  parts  of  the 
United  States. 

In  every  department,  the  chosen  citizen  of  this 
magnificent  empire  has  shown  himself  master  of 
the  situation.  In  art,  literature,  and  sciences  ;  in 
war  and  times  of  peace,  he  has  given  strength  to 
the  Union  and  credit  to  a  central  power  that  will 
surround  itself  with  national  influences  the  most 
impregnable  of  any  government  in  the  world. 
And  under  all  the  disadvantages — the  absence  of 
public  schools,  and  the  opening  up  of  a  new 
world  isolated  from  civilization,  he  came  forth 
like  a  vision  of  beauty  and  glory  from  a  chrysa- 


()G  TIIK    StjriKKKI,    IlfNTKUS. 

lis  on   which    was   written   the  destiny  of  future 
greatness. 

A  short  time  before  execution,  John  Brown 
said — "I  know  the  very  errors  by  which  my 
scheme  was  marred  were  decreed  before  the  world 
was  made.  And  I  had  no  more  to  do  with  the 
course  1  pursued  than  a  shot  leaving  a  can- 
non has  to  do  with  the  spot  where  it  shall  fall." 
That  hunger  and  thirst  for  knowledge  which  pre- 
vailed in  the  North-west  seemed  to  contradict  all 
theories  of  man's  prone-ness  under  favorable  cir- 
cumstances to  degenerate,  and  favors  the  theorv 
advanced  by  the  hero  of  Ossawatomie  in  regard 
to  power  and  purpose.  Some  of  the  first  genera- 
tion of  boys  of  Ohio  (those  that  lived  in  the  ter- 
ritory) previous  to  171)0  were  born  elsewhere  to 
disappoint  the  Indians,  but  were  all  the  same 
shareholders  of  the  great  estate.  And  at  the 
early  dawn  of  the  present  century  many  of  these 
young  men  found  their  way  to  Eastern  institu- 
tions of  learning,  taking  the  front  in  phvsical 
and  mental  culture,  as  thev  did  afterward  in  po- 

*/ 

sitions  of  national  honor. 

As  boys,  squif^el  hunters,  men,  scholars,  law- 
yers, soldiers,  civilians,  and  statesmen,  history 
shows  they  filled  their  places  well  as  American 
models  of  superior  manhood.  Poor  as  the  iso- 
lated inhabitants  were  in  regard  to  worldly  goods, 
they  had  an  abundance  of  that  which  gave  vi- 
tality, energy,  and  power  of  will  to  do.  It  was 
no  uncommon  tiling  for  bovs  in  this  vast  forest 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,  AND  POLITICAL.  67 

to  obtain  by  their  own  efforts  full  preparation 
to  enter  college,  and  with  a  knapsack  of  luncheon, 
tinder-box,  and  scantily-filled  purse,  walk  hundreds 
of  miles  to  a  seat  of  learning,  and  there  remain 
four  years  without  seeing  home  or  friends  until 
they  obtained  the  high  honors  of  the  institution. 

Ex-Governor  Seaberry  Ford  is  but  the  sample 
of  many.  When  it  came  time  to  go  to  college, 
the  family  of  the  young  squirrel  hunter  was  liv- 
ing in  a  log  cabin  in  the  backwoods  of  Ohio. 
His  ambition,  however,  was  for  Yale,  and  so  ex- 
pressed it.  His  father  replied,  "How  are  you  to 
get  there!''  The  answer  was,  "I  can  walk,'' 
and  did  walk — reached  Yale,  where  he  remained 
the  "boss"  young  man  of  the  town  and  institu- 
tion for  four  years,  and  returned  to  Ohio  witli  the 
first  diploma  issued  by  that  college  to  an  Ohio 
boy.  Many  years  without  public  schools  papers  or 
libraries  did  not  dampen  the  ardor  of  the  young 
for  knowledge.  The  inhabitants  were  destitute 
of  a  circulating  medium,  but  managed  to  keep 
apace  with  all  the  world  in  that  synonym  for 
power.  The  means  employed,  as  given  in  the 
autobiography  of  one  of  the  first  two  college 
graduates  in  the  North-west,  illustrates  well  the 
thousands  of  that  and  later  dates  who  managed 
to  obtain  books,  and  worked  their  way  to  the 
highest  standard  of  education. 

The  Hon.  Thomas  Ewing  says — "About  this 
time"  (1803)  "the  neighbors  in  our  and  the  stir- 
rounding  settlements  met  and  agreed  to  purchase 


f>8  TIIK     SCjriKKEL    IirXTKUS. 

hooks  and  make  a  conimon  library.  They  were 
all  poor  and  subscriptions  small,  hut  they  raised 
in  all  about  one  hundred  dollars. 

"All  my  accumulated  wealth,  ten  coon-skins, 
went  into  the  fund,  and  Squire  Sam  Brown,  of 
Sunday  (-reek,  who  was  going  to  Boston,  was 
charged  with  the  purchase.  After  the  absence  of 
many  weeks  he  brought  the  books  to  Captain 
Ben  Brown's  in  a  sack  on  a  pack-horse.  I  was 
present  at  the  untying  of  the  sack  and  pouring 
out  the  treasure1.  There  were  about  sixtv  vol- 
umes, I  think,  and  well  selected  ;  the  library  of 
the  Vatican  was  nothing  to  it,  and  there  never 
was  a  library  better  read.  This  with  occasional 
additions  furnished  me  with  reading  while  I  re- 
mained at  home." 

"Dec.  17,  1804,  the  library  was  fully  estab- 
lished and  christened,  'The  Coon-skin  Library,' 
and  a  librarian  duly  elected  by  shareholders." 

Five  years  later,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  with 
consent  of  his  father,  young  Ewing  left  home  to 
procure  means  to  obtain  a  collegiate  education. 
He  set  out  on  foot  and  found  his  way  through  the 
woods  from  his  home  in  Athens  county  to  the 
Ohio  river,  and  from  thence  to  the  Kanawha 
Salt  Works,  where  he  engaged  as  a  day  laborer, 
and  in  three  months  saved  enough  money  to  pay 
his  wav  at  school  through  the  winter  at  Athens 
College.  He  became  well  satisfied  with  the  suc- 
cess so  far,  and  in  the  spring  returned  to  the  Salt 
Works  and  made  money  enough  to  pay  off  some 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND    POLITICAL.          09 

indebtedness  that  was  troubling  his  father,  devot- 
ing the  winter  to  the  study  of  some  new  books 
obtained  by  the  "Coon-skin  Library." 

The  third  year  he  returned  with  enough  to  in- 
duce him  to  enter  college  as  a  regular  student, 
where  he  remained  until  1815  ;  and,  after  taking 
the  degree  of  A.  M.,  returned  to  the  Salt  Works, 
and  earned  enough  to  aid  in  the  study  of  law. 
Thus,  ten  years  were  spent  as  a  necessary  ap- 
prenticeship— performing  the  arduous  and  mo- 
notonous labors  of  boiling  salt,  that  he  might  be 
enabled  to  cultivate  the  various  talents  nature 
had  so  bounteously  bestowed  upon  him,  and  at 
the  same  time  avoid  financial  embarrassments. 

Many  thousands  of  squirrel  hunters  since  have 
imitated  the  example  of  this  great  man.  and  have 
arisen  to  high  eminence,  but  none — not  one — to 
the  height  of  "The  Ohio  Salt-boiler" — the  great- 
est man  America  ever  produced.  In  stature  Mr. 
Ewing  was  six  feet  two  inches  tall — well  propor- 
tioned, with  remarkable  physical  ability.  It  is 
related — that  many  years  after  athletical  exer- 
cises had  been  lain  aside  for  law,  on  passing  near 
the  old  court-house  in  Lancaster,  Ohio,  he  found 
a  crowd  of  able-bodied  men  who  had  been  trying 
to  throw  an  ax,  handle  and  all,  over  the  building, 
but  it  could  not  be  done.  Mr.  Ewing  halted,  and 
took  the  ax  by  the  handle  and  sent  it  sailing  five 
feet  or  more  above  the  building  and  passed  on. 

Mr.  Ewing  was  great  from  the  fact  he  was  fa- 
miliar with  the  little  things  of  life,  as  well  as 


70  THE    SQflRREI,    HfNTERS. 

the  greater  matters  in  tlie  sii])niine  court,  where 
he  chiefly  practiced.  Daniel  Webster  acknowl- 
edged Mr.  Kwing's  superior  abilities  in  seeking 
his  aid  in  his  difficult  and  weighty  cases. 

In  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  he  intro- 
duced many  important  bills — and  opposed  Clay's 
Compromise — the  amendatory  fugitive  slave  law 
of  lSf>0 — and  advocated  the  abolition  of  slavery 
in  the  District  of  Columbia.  As  a  statesman  and 
educated  in  a  free  state,  he  had  none  of  that  dif- 
fidence, timidity,  and  submission  to  slave-holding 
dictation  so  commonly  witnessed  among  northern 
legislators  in  Congress,  and  before  their  con- 
stituents. 

The  influence  of  slavery  was  felt  in  the  educa- 
tion and  lives  of  the  people  of  the  North-west. 
As  race  hatred  was  transplanted  into  Ohio  in  the 
early  settlements,  it  soon  became  a  political  ele- 
ment that  caused  many  odious  and  unchristian 
laws  to  be  placed  on  the  statute  books,  and  en- 
forced as  vigorously  against  color  as  if  made  in 
the  interests  of  slavery  and  bonded  ignorance  of 
the  state. 

The  first  State  Constitution  of  Ohio,  adopted 
in  lcS02,  in  article  8,  "That  the  general,  great, 
and  essential  principles  of  liberty  and  free  gov- 
ernment may  be  recogni/ed,  and  forever  unalter- 
ably established,  we  declare" — 

SEC.  1.  "That  all  men  are  born  equally  free 
and  independent,  and  have  certain  natural,  in- 
herent, and  unalienable  rights,  among  which  are 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND  POLITICAL.  71 

the  enjoying  and  defending  life  and  liberty;  ac- 
quiring, possessing,  and  protecting  property,  and 
pursuing  and  obtaining  happiness  and  safety." 

SEC.  2.  "There  shall  be  neither  slavery  nor  in- 
voluntary servitude  in  this  state,  otherwise  than 
for  the  punishment  of  crimes,  whereof  the  party 
shall  have  been  duly  convicted.'' 

SEC.  3.  ...  "That  schools,  and  the  means 
of  instruction,  shall  forever  be  encouraged  by 
legislative  provision,  not  inconsistent  with  the 
rights  of  conscience." 

SEC.  25.  "That  no  law  shall  be  passed  to  pre- 
vent the  poor  in  the  several  counties  and  town- 
ships within  this  state  from  an  equal  participa- 
tion in  the  schools,  academies,  colleges,  and  uni- 
versities^ within  this  state,  which  are  endowed,  in 
whole  or  in  part,  from  the  revenue  arising  from 
the  donations  made  by  the  United  States  for  the 
support  of  schools  and  colleges  ;  and  the  doors  of 
the  said  schools,  academies,  and  universities  shall 
be  open  for  the  reception  of  scholars,  students. 
and  teachers  of  every  grade,  icitltont  any-  distinc- 
tion or  preference  whatever  contrary  to  the_in- 
tent  for  which  the  said  donations  were  made." 

Still  the  colored  man,  under  no  circumstances. 
excepting  taxation,  was  recognized  as  a  citizen. 
He  was  by  Article  IV  of  the  Constitution  of  Ohio 
disfranchised  by  the  word  "white'' — no  other 
color  could  enjoy  the  rights  of  an  elector.  He 
was  by  law  deprived  of  schools  and  means  of 
instruction  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  the  endow- 


t'l  TIIK    St^riKHKI.    IlfNTKKS. 

ment  as  well  as  expressions  of  the  constitution; 
and  for  more  than  forty  years  the  colored  popu- 
lation sojourned  in  a  wilderness  of  freedom  he  fore 
it  was  discovered  that  manhood  has  rights  all  are 
hound  to  respect — one  of  which  is  the  right  of 
suffrage. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  population  forming 
the  new  state  were  favorahle  to  freedom,  and 
many  were  known  to  have  emancipated  their 
slaves  and  settled  in  Ohio  that  thev  might  wipe 
out  the  stains  of  an  institution  which  had  so 
truthfully  heen  denominated  the  "sum  of  all  vil- 
lianies."  There  were,  however,  others,  in  almost 
every  neighborhood,  who  by  nature  were  the  pa- 
trons of  the  slave-hunter  and  looked  upon  a 
colored  man  as  unworthy  of  an  existence  on 
on  earth,  and  delighted  in  tormenting,  kill- 
ing, or  driving  him  from  his  home  and  neighbor- 
hood. 

This  race  hatred  in  some  parts  of  the  state  re- 
ceived so  much  attention  and  cultivation,  that 
many  well-meaning  people  encouraged  the  preju- 
dice, in  view  of  the  peace  of  the  neighborhood. 

Cincinnati  did  more  than  all  the  rest  of  the 
border  towns  in  keeping  up  and  disseminating  a 
riolnif  race  hatred.  Free  respectable  colored  peo- 
ple were  looked  upon,  denounced,  and  treated  as 
a  nuisance,  "having  no  rights  a  white  man  was 
bound  to  respect."  The  city  harbored  if  not  en- 
couraged a  lot  of  miscreants,  who  made  it  a 
business  to  hunt  and  capture  runaway  slaves  for 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND  POLITICAL.  73 

the  reward  ;  and  also  to  carry  on  the  money  mak- 
ing business  of  kidnaping  free  blacks,  carrying 
them  across  the  river,  and  selling  them  into  slav- 
ery. Any  and  every  unlawful  treatment  they  re- 
ceived was  winked  at  by  citizens  and  city  author- 
ities. 

The  courts  were  open,  but  until  S.  P.  Chase 
went  to  Cincinnati  in  1830  the  black  man  could 
procure  no  counsel,  as  a  white  man  could  easily 
ruin  his  character  and  standing  by  manifesting 
the  least  sympathy  for  the  persecuted.  When  the 
Hon.  Salmon  P.  Chase  defended  one  of  these 
down-trodden  creatures  in  the  courts  of  Cincin- 
nati, after  the  hearing  of  the  case,  a  prominent 
man  of  the  city  said,  pointing  to  Mr.  Chase, 
"There  goes  a  promising  young  lawyer  who  has 
ruined  himself." 

But  the  state  outside  of  Cincinnati  had  enough 
of  the  right  element  to  enforce,  if  necessary,  at 
all  times,  the  fifth  paragraph  of  the  eighth  arti- 
cle of  the  state  constitution,  which  affirmed, 
"That  the  people  shall  lie  secure  in  their  persons, 
houses,  papers,  and  possessions,  from  all  unwar- 
rantable searches  and  seizures  ;  and  that  the  gen- 
eral warrants  whereby  an  officer  may  be  com- 
manded to  search  suspected  places,  without  proba- 
ble evidence  of  the  fact  committed,  or  to  seize 
any  person  or  persons  not  named  whose  offenses 
are  not  particularly  described,  and  without  oath 
or  affirmation,  are  dangerous  to  liberty,  and  xhull 
7 


74  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

not  be  granted."  Still  in  matters  of  legislation 
Cincinnati  managed  to  secure  her  influence 
against  the  negro. 

Notwithstanding  the  plain  wording  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  State,  laws  were  enacted  to  keep 
the  black  and  mulatto  people  out  of  Ohio.  These 
were  the  much  discussed  "black  laws" — 

First.  A  black  or  mulatto  person  was  prohib- 
ited settlement  unless  lie  could  show  a  certificate 
of  freedom  and  the  names  of  two  freeholders  as 
security  for  his  good  behavior  and  maintenance, 
in  the  event  of  becoming  a  public  charge  ;  and 
unless  the  certificate  of  freedom  was  duly  re- 
corded and  produced,  it  was  a  penal  offense  to  a  ire 
employment  to  a.  black  or  mulatto. 

Second.  Colored  and  mulattoes  were  excluded 
from  the  schools  ;  and, 

Third .  No  black  or  mulatto  could  testify  in  court 
in  any  case  where  a  white4  person  was  concerned, 

In  18-18,  Dr.  N.  S.  Townshend,  of  Lorain 
county,  and  Dr.  John  F.  Morse,  of  Lake  county, 
were  elected  members  of  the  legislature  as  "abo- 
litionists." To  these  two  members,  fortunately, 
holding  the  balance  of  power  between  the  Whigs 
and  Democrats,  are  due  the  repeal  of  the  odious 
"black  laws,"  and  the  election  of  an  "abolition" 
United  States  Senator — S.  P.  Chase. 

To  these  men,  in  combination  with  the  Demo- 
crats, is  not  only  due  the  repeal  of  existing  laws, 
but,  also,  provisions  for  schools  for  black  and 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,  AND    POLITICAL.          75 

mulatto  children.  And  Ohio  became  reclaimed 
in  favor  of  freedom,  and  all  was  bright  and  lovely 
and  prosperous — but  not  all  happy  ;  for  there  still 
remained  a  black,  disgraceful,  disfiguring  spot  on 
the  face  of  the  Goddess  of  Liberty — a  spot  that 
was  causing  millions  to  mourn. 

Early  in  the  Union  of  the  States,  slavery  caste 
began  to  isolate  itself  from  every  thing  denom- 
inated "Yankee  North,"  and,  at  the  same  time, 
disseminated  a  race  hatred  against  the  "nigger'' 
among  the  ignorant  white  and  poor  people  of  the 
South.  And,  in  the  line  of  emigration,  Ohio  re- 
ceived a  larger  share  of  imigrants  who  had  been 
taught  to  despise  the  "nigger,"  and  honestly  be- 
lieved a  colored  man  was  an  inferior  animal, 
"destitute  of  a  soul;"  and  lecturers  were  often 
traveling  over  the  state  entertaining  large  audi- 
ences with  such  crude  material  as  that — "A  nig- 
ger is  not  human — the  bones  in  the  hands  and 
feet  are  entirelv  different ;  and  he  is  nothing  more 

«/  O 

or  less  than  an  improved  Orang-outang,  and 
made  to  be  a  slave  to  the  human  race  as  much 
as  a  horse  or  cow."  By  lowering  the  natural 
status  of  the  colored  man,  such  audiences  became 
elevated  and  the  space  between  man  and  the 
monkey  widened  by  comparison  making  room 
for  increased  hatred.  At  all  times,  but  most  es- 
pecially so,  previous  to  the  odious  amendments 
of  the  "Fugitive  Slave  Law,"  in  1850,  it  was  no 
uncommon  thing  to  see  calls  signed  by  numerous 
citizens  inserted  in  popular  newspapers,  asking 


76  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

all  persons  in  favor  of  "law  and  order"  to  assem- 
ble at  the  time  and  place  specified  to  put  down 
abolitionism,  and  to  let  their  "xtmthcrn  Irtthrtn"1 
know  the  people  of  Ohio  were  in  favor  of  the 
constitution  and  preservation  of  the  Tnion  of  the 
States. 

A  call  for  a  meeting  of  this  kind  in  a  central 
county  of  the  state,  and  announced  in  the  official 
political  paper  of  the  time,  dated  October!},  IS)};"), 
is  headed  in  large  type — 

' '.1  nti-A l><>!  it/on  Meeting. 

"A  meeting  of  those  opposed  to  the  wild  pro- 
jects of  abolitionists  is  proposed  to  be  held  at 
the  court-house  in  Circleville,  on  Saturday,  the 
10th  day  of  October  next,  at  1  o'clock  p.  M. 

All  those  who  love  their  country  and  are  will- 
ing to  maintain  her  constitution — 

All  who  are  friends  to  order  and  would  avert 
the  horrors  of  a  servile  war — 

All  who  know  slavery  to  be  an  evil,  but  believe 
a  dissolution  of  our  National  Union  a  greater 
evil- 
All  who  deprecate  ecclesiastical  influence  in 
political  affairs,  are  respectfully  and  earnestly  in- 
vited to  attend  the  proposed  meeting,  when  a 
number  of  addresses  will  be  delivered.'' 

This  call  is  signed  by  four  hundred  and  seventy- 
three  names,  citizens  of  a  town  having  less  than 
two  thousand  inhabitants.  The  next  issue  of  the 
paper  publishing  the  call,  and  previous  to  the 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND  POLITICAL.  11 

time  of  meeting,  contained  an  anonymous,  but 
scathing  criticism  of  such  movements,  in  which 
the  author  of  the  article  says:  ''It  lias  been 
shown  what  is  the  real  state  of  the  anti-slavery 
question,  and  the  unreasonableness  and  utter 
groundlessness  of  the  outcry  against  Abolition- 
ists." "Further  we  would  state  for  the  serious 
consideration  of  our  opponents  that  we  are  per- 
suaded that  the  'Union  will  be  dissolved,'  not  if 
this  subject  be  discussed,  but  if  it  be  not.  If  it 
be  true  that  the  social  compact  was  formed  on 
the  condition  of  slavery  being  tolerated  by  the 
free  states,  then  it  is  such  an  Union  as  must 
sooner  or  later  be  dissolved."  .  .  .  "Admit- 
ting the  existence  of  a  God,  and  that  God  is  a 
being  of  perfect  equity,  can  it  be  believed  that 
He  will  suffer  such  a  combination  against  the 
happiness  of  man  to  exist  forever?  And  has  it 
not  already  existed  too  long  for  that  unity  of 
counsel  in  this  great  republic  which  should  ever 
mark  the  doings  of  a  nation?  And  can  we  cal- 
culate on  a  much  longer  forbearance?"  The  edi- 
tors of  the  paper,  after  offering  an  apology  for 
publishing  the  article,  of  which  the  above  quota- 
tions are  but  a  small  part,  say:  "Will  some 
Abolitionist  be  so  kind  as  to  refer  us  to  the  pas- 
sage in  our  Constitutien  or  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence which  asserts  that  all  men  are  created 
free  and  equally  ;  we  have  not  seen  it." 

The  meeting  came  off  as   advertised,  and  the 
chairman  said:   "Deeply  sympathizing  with  our 


78  THK    SQl'IKRKL    Hl'NTKRS. 

'SoutheTn  brethren,'  we  have  assembled  to  express 
our  most  unqualified  opposition  to  emancipation 
and  disapprobation  of  the  course  pursued  bv  its 
advocates;  and  to  a^suru  our  fellow-citizens  in 
the  Southern  States  that  we  regard  their  consti- 
tutional rights  as  our  own,  and  that  we  will  tc 
the  utmost  aid  them  in  the  defense  of  those 
rights."  "Therefore,  Resolved/'  was  followed 
by  ten  long  resolutions  in  praise  of  fidelity  to  the 
South  and  opposition  to  emancipation,  winding 
up  with  the  following: 

"Resolved,  That  were  the  slave-holders  now 
willing  to  abolish  slavery,  in  our  opinion  the  im- 
mediate and  unconditional  emancipation  of  all 
the  slaves  in  the  United  States,  without  provid- 
ing for  their  colonization,  would  render  the  con- 
dition of  both  the  whites  and  blacks  infinitelv 
worse  than  it  now  is,  and  would  be  an  act  of  pal- 
pable and  unpardonable  inhumanity  to  the 
slni'cs. " 

Signed  :  Valentine  KietFer,  President  ;  Nathan 
Perrill,  John  Entrekin,  Win.  Renick,  Sr,,  Yice- 
Presidents  ;  Elias  Bontley,  W.  N.  Foresman,  A. 
Huston,  Secretaries. 

All  the  officers  were  well-known  and  promi- 
nent people,  and  it  is  not  strange1  that  persons  of 
such  note  and  intelligence  should  have  given 
their  approbation  and  signatures  of  approval  to 
such  a  meeting,  when  we  reflect  that  most  pro- 
slavery  men  in  the  free  states  had  been  taught  to 
believe  or  say  :  If  the  slaves  were  liberated,  they 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AXD    POLITICAL.  79 

would  come  north  in  swarms  and  "steal  our  chick- 
ens," and  destroy  the  peace  of  society  "by  mar- 
rying evenj  good-looking  white  woman  in  the 
country." 

But  there  existed  110  occasion  for  alarm  ;  the 
slave-holding  states  South  never  had  an  inclina- 
tion to  emancipate  their  slaves.  They  were  the 
wealth  of  that  country,  and  its  growing  great- 
ness fostered  the  desire  to  found  an  aristocratic 
empire  on  slave  labor.  The  number  in  bondage 
was  rapidly  increasing  and  their  labor  was  be- 
coming more  and  more  remunerative.  They  had 
but  to  see  the  increase  of  this  wealth  and  its 
products  in  fifty  years,  to  stimulate  the  desire  to 
found  a  government  on  the  aristocracy  of  the  in- 
stitution. 

In  1810,  there  were  in  all  the  states  but  1,191,- 
3GO  slaves  ;  and  notwithstanding  New  England, 
New  York,  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania  had  in 
the  meantime  liberated  theirs — and  the  African 
slave  trade  had  previously  been  abolished — the 
underground  railroad  had  been  doing  a  lively 
business — and  the  manumissions  and  coloniza- 
tions that  were  going  on  in  the  ''breeding  states" 
— in  1860  the  number  had  increased  to  within  a 
small  fraction  less  than  four  millions. 

Slave  labor  was  exceedingly  profitable  in  the 
cotton  states,  as  the  increase  of  the  cotton  pro- 
duct shows.  In  1801,  these  states  only  produced 
48,000,000  pounds,  while  1860  returned  2,054,- 
698,800  pounds.  There  were,  however,  two 


SO  T1IK     SCJflKKKL    HtNTKKS. 

tilings  inserted  in  the  government  plat  that  were 
unsatisfactory  :  "That  all  men  are  created  equal" 
in  natural  rights,  and  the  Missouri  Compromise 
— the  thirty-six  degrees  thirty  minutes  north 
latitude,  Mason  and  Dixon's  line.  It  was  not  so 
clear  as  they  wished  it  might  be,  that  "unalien- 
able  rights/'  "life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness,"  belonged  only  to  masters  ;  and  when 
the  failure  to  rescind  the  "Compromise"  in  IS.")!) 
occurred  through  democratic  influence,  of  such 
men  as  Albert  I*.  Kdgerton.  the  possibility  of 
peacefully  enlarging  the  area  of  slaverv  became 
as  hopeless  as  it  was  manifestly  evident  that 
bondage  and  freedom  could  not  much  longer 
remain  peaceably  in  the  same  government.  And 
with  amendments  to  the  fugitive  slave  law  the 
Southern  political  bosses,  who  had  usurped  the 
control  of  the  national  government,  knew  the 
constitution  found  slavery  in  the  states,  and  as  a 
state  institution  left  its  local  existence  to  the 
chances  of  state  laws.  They  knew  full  well  it 
was  not  made  a  national  institution  and  that  tin- 
nine  was  close  at  hand  when  they  must  go  to  the 
rear  or  abandon  their  northern  allies  and  set  up 
a  slavocracy  for  themselves.  They  had  obtained 
sufficient  to  know  Lloyd  (iarrison,  Wendell 
Phillips,  Arthur  Tappan  and  the  Boston  Liber- 
ator were  actual  facts;  and  the  large  meetings 
of  the  "dough  faces"  and  their  expressions  of 
sympathy  was  not  the  kind  of  "  Soothing 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,  AND    POLITICAL.  81 

Syrup"  the  South  desired,  although  giving  great 
encouragement  to  secession. 

The  division  of  sentiment  existing  in  the  free 
states  in  regard  to  the  rights  of  slavery  and  its 
extension  became  more  and  more  expressive, 
especially  along  the  border  lines  of  the  opposing 
institutions.  Consequently  Ohio  felt  a  full  share 
of  the  evils  due  to  political  and  social  disturb- 
ances arising  from  this  cause.  But  the  inter- 
communications given  by  railroads  and  the 
light  emanating  from  a  free  and  fearless  press — 
cheap  postage  and  speedy  transportation — infused 
new  life  ;  and  mankind  began  thinking — think- 
ing differently  from  that  of  past  times  when 
the  postage  on  a  letter  was  twenty-five  cents  and 
required  four  days  for  an  individual  to  travel  one 
hundred  miles  and  return. 

Slave  hunting  in  the  land  of  the  free  did  not 
prove  an  agreeable  or  profitable  occupation. 
The  oppressed  fugitive  generally  found  friends 
enough  in  the  North  to  secure  the  boon  he  sought. 
In  almost  every  community  could  be  found  the 
spirit  contained  in  the  lines  by  Whittier,  ex- 
pressed for  George  W.  Lattimer,  who  with  his 
wife  escaped  from  Norfolk,  Va.,  in  1841,  and 
was  found  in  Boston.  He  was  the  first  slave 
hunted  in  the  North,  and  was  arrested  and  pro- 
ceedings began  to  have  him  returned  to  slavery. 
His  cause  was  championed  by  such  men  as 
William  Lloyd  Garrison,  Wendell  Phillips  and 
Frederick  Douglass.  The  court  ruled  against 


<S2  THK    SOJ'IRKKL    HfNTKKS. 

the  fugitive  and  his  liberty  was  purchased  by  the 
good  people  of  Boston.  Lattimor  gained  great 
notoriety,  and  after  a  long  and  eventful  life  died 
at  his  home  in  Lynn,  Mass.,  May  30,  1SW5, 
aged  seventy-five  years.  And  it  can  not  well  be 
disputed  that  much  of  the,  after  changes  in  public 
sentiment  in  regard  to  the  status  of  the  colored 
man,  and  his  rights  in  a  free  state,  was  brought 
about  by  the  object  lessons  in  the  enforcement 
of  the  odious  fugitive  slave  law.  "All  that  was 
necessary  to  prove  the  detestable  character  of 
this  iniquity  and  its  dangers  to  liberty  was 
simply  to  enforce  it."*  Still  the  corrupting  in- 
fluences of  trade  made  the  evils  of  slavery  felt  in 
the  social,  moral  and  educational  interests  of  the 
entire  state  ;  and  consequently  citi/ens,  who  had 
in  their  hearts  the  logical  idea  that  all  men  are 
born  free  and  equal,  saw  the  hand  of  tyranny 
quite  as  much  on  either  shore  of  the  river,  that 
constituted  geographically  the  dividing  line. 

This  was  more  especially  true  of  Cincinnati, 
where  large  interests  in  trade  enabled  the  senti- 
ments of  the  few  to  dominate  and  regulate1  public 
acts  and  opinions  parallel  with  steamboat  mo- 
nopoly, and  the  creed  of  the  "Divine  Institu- 
tion/' as  much  as  if  the  city  had  been  located 
considerably  south  of  "Mason  and  Dixon's  line  ;  ' 
and  as  late  as  1830  a  free  soil  newspaper,  "The 
Philanthropist,"  was  destroyed  by  a  mob  of  lead- 

*  Mathcws. 


.  EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND  POLITICAL.  83 

ing  citizens  of  Cincinnati,  and  which  will  ever 
remain  a  historical  record  of  loyalty  to  the  insti- 
tution on  the  opposite  side  of  'the  river,  and  as 
penance  for  some  manifestation  in  favor  of 
freedom. 

The  Philanthropist  was  a  newspaper  ably  edited 
by  James  G.  Birney.  After  being  published 
some  three  months,  at  night,  July  14,  1836,  the 
press-room  was  broken  open  by  well-known  citi- 
zens of  Cincinnati,  and  the  press  materials  all 
destroyed.  No  attempt  was  made  to  punish  the 
perpetrators.  But  rather  to  sanction  the  act. 
A  call  for  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  was  made  for 
July  23d,  stating  the  purpose  to  be,  "to  decide 
whether  tl i e  people  of  Cincinnati  will  permit  the  pub- 
lication or  distribution  of  'abolition'  papers  in  the 
city." 

The  decision  of  this  mass  meeting,  composed 
of  the  business  men  of  the  city,  was  afterwards 
published  in  a  leading  local  paper,  and  makes 
very  good  reading,  although  derived  from  a  pro- 
slavery  source,  to  wit:  "On  Saturday  night, 
July  30th,  very  soon  after  dark,  a  concourse  of 
citizens  assembled  at  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Seventh  streets,  in  this  city,  and,  upon  a  short 
consultation,  broke  open  the  printing  office  of  the 
Philanthropist,  the  abolition  paper,  scattered  the 
type  into  the  street,  tore  down  the  presses,  and 
completely  dismantled  the  office.  It  was  owned 
by  A.  Pugh,  a  peaceable  and  orderly  printer,  who 


H4  THE    SOj;iKKKI.    lir.NTKKS. 

printed  the  Philanthropist  for  the  Anti-Slavery 
Society  of  Oliio."1 

"  From  the  printing  office  tlie  crowd  went  to 
the  house  of  A.  Pugh.  where  they  supposed  there 
were  other  printing  materials,  hut  found  none, 
nor  offered  an;/  riol<  nee.  Then  to  Messrs.  Donald- 
sons, where  only  ladies  were  at  home.  The  resi- 
dence of  Mr.  Birney.  the  editor,  was  then  visited  ; 
no  person  was  at  home  but  a  youth,  upon  whose 
explanations  the  house  was  left  undisturbed.  .  .  . 
And  proceeded  to  the  'Exchange'  and  took  re- 
freshments.'' .  .  .  "An  attack  was  then  made 
ui)on  the  residences  of  some  blacks  in  Church 
alley  ;  two  guns  were  fired  upon  the  assailants 
and  they  recoiled.  ...  It  was  some  time 
before  the  rally  could  again  he  made,  several 
voices  declaring  they  did  not  wish  to  endanger 
themselves.  A  second  attack  was  made,  the 
houses  found  empty,  and  their  interior  contents 
destroyed." 

Although  all  this  kind  of  proceeding  looked 
very  much  like  an  unlawful  assemblage,  it  met 
with  no  opposition  from  the  city  authorities,  and 
all  that  was  ever  done  in  a  matter  of  this  kind 
was  to  call  a  meeting  of  citizens,  and  "  re  r/ ret  (Jic 
cau*e  of  the  recent  occurrence*,"1  and  the  next  dav 
would  drive  a  Wendell  Phillips  from  Pike's 
Opera  House,  and  seek  him  with  a  howling  mob 
that  he  might  be  hung  to  a  lamp-post,  ''the 
mayor  refusing  to  allow  the  police  to  interfere." 

Cincinnati  reaped  a  rich  harvest  for  the  exam- 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND  POLITICAL.  85 

pies  given  in  "citizen"  mobs.  Still,  at  any  time 
previous  to  the  "salvation"  of  the  city,  it  was  im- 
politic if  not  dangerous  for  a  minister  of  the  gos- 
pel, a  public  speaker,  press  or  private  citizen,  to 
mention  the  subject  of  slavery  in  a  manner  that 
might  be  construed  unfavorable  to  its  sanctity  ; 
for  a  black  line  had  been  drawn  over  the  twenty- 
sixth  verse  of  the  seventeenth  chapter  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles  ;  the  tenth  verse  of  the  second 
chapter  of  Malachi,  and  the  spirit  of  the  gospel 
dispensation,  as  effectually  in  their  practical 
theology  as  was  ever  manifest  in  Danville  or  in 
any  Southern  translation  of  the  ten  command- 
ments. 

So  determined  were  the  pro-slavery  elements 
to  hold  the  fort  in  Cincinnati  and  aid  the  South 
in  making  it  dangerous  for  a  colored  man  in  a 
"free  state,"  that  they  continued  to  supply  the 
South  with  stores  until  the  last  moment  ;  and 
only  a  week  before  the  bombardment  of  Sumter, 
the  city  permitted  cannon  to  pass  through  on  way 
from  Baltimore  marked 

"For  tJte  SoutJtcr/t  Confederacy, 
Jackson, 

Mississippi." 

And  the  same  day,  or  the  day  before,  returned 
a  fugitive  slave  through  the  commissioner,  and 
all  went  well  with  the  city,  reaping  the  fruits  of 
the  war,  until  General  Wallace  placed  it  under 
martial  law,  and,  suspending  business,  demanded 
the  citizens  to  enroll  themselves  for  defense. 


<S()  TIIK    ScjriKKKI.    HINTKUS. 

"Some  wore  at  once  taken  very  sick,  others  were 
hunted  up  by  detailed  soldiers,  who  turned  them 
out  of  barns,  kitchens,  garrets,  cellars,  closets. 
from  under  beds,  and  in  the  disguise  of  women's 
clothing."  For  the  seed  sown  was  now  ripe  and 
mid  air  was  resounding — "77/c  Jiarvext  is  Am'.'' 

At  a  time,  in  IHoH,  when  public  sentiment  was 
beginning  to  be  felt,  and  official  prosecutions  for 
the  return  of  fugitive  slaves  became  more  or  less 
unsatisfactory  to  the  owners,  James  Buchanan, 
President  of  the  United  States,  gave  a  surprise 
to  every  one  by  appointing  Judge  Stanley  Mat- 
thews— an  eminent  lawyer,  ex-editor  of  an  abo- 
lition, paper,  and  leader  in  the  anti-slaverv  move- 
ments in  Ohio,  as  Tinted  States  District  Attorney 
for  the  Southern  District  of  Ohio. 

To  politicians,  this  seemed  not  only  a  deviation 
from  all  known  precedents,  but,  politically,  an 
unfathomable  mystery.  But,  no  more  remarka- 
ble was  the  appointment  than  that,  a  lawver  at 
the  summit  of  professional  ability  and  large  in- 
come— a  noted  abolitionist — opposed  to  the  fugi- 
gitive  slave  acts,  should  have  accepted  the  posi- 
tion. But  those  who  knew  Judge  Matthews  and 
his  patriotism  best,  could  discern  in  it  logical 
conclusions — the  interests  of  freedom  could  be 
subserved  and  the  public  mind  attained  bv  a 
shorter  method  than  by  arguing,  speaking,  or 
publishing — "tin*  enforcement  of  tin:  iniquitous  fu- 
gitive slave  la.ir."  And  for  three  years  he  prose- 
cuted '''offenders''1  without  just  fault  or  favor — 


EDUCATIONAL,    SOCIAL,    AM)    POLITICAL.  Hi 

giving  such  lessons  in  its  application,  that  made 
loyalty  to  freedom,  and  magnified  the  blessings 
of  the  free. 

Judge  Matthews  resigned  the  office  in  1801, 
and  took  the  commission  of  Lieutenant-Colonel 
in  the  Twenty-third — afterward  Colonel  of  the 
Fifty-first  Ohio,  and  awaited  the  "proclamation.'' 

During  Judge  Matthews'  entire  service  as 
United  States  District  Attorney,  the  slave  states 
were  secluded  as  pertaining  to  things  and  persons 
of  the  "North" — papers,  books,  teachers,  preach- 
ers, and  citizens  were  effectually  ostracized  ; 
northern  colleges  and  seminaries  had  their  south- 
ern patronage  withdrawn;  and,  finally,  when, 
by  the  aid  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  they  secured 
large  quantities  of  United  States  arms  and  mili- 
tary supplies,  and  felt  thoroughly  prepared  and 
equipped,  the  states  stepped  out  of  the  Union 
with  defiance,  leaving  poor  Kentucky  with  a 
governor  that  threatened  to  chastise  either  of  the 
belligerents  if  they  dared  to  interfere  with  her 
" neutrality."  And  it  is  not  known  to  history 
that  either  the  cotton  states  or  neutral  Kentucky 
ever  gave  Judge  Matthews  a  vote  of  thanks  for 
his  vigorous  enforcement  of  the  fugitive  law. 
But  this  is  not  all.  In  1870,  Judge  Matthews  ran. 
for  Congress  in  the  Second  District  of  Cincinnati, 
and  his  defeat,  says  the  biographer,*  was  in  con- 
sequence of  an  act  of  his  while  United  States 


"The  Builders  of  the  Nation.'' 


TIIK    SCiUlKUEL    HfNTKHS. 

District  Attorney — that  while  lie  had  the  office  he 
prosecuted  W.  H.  Connelly,  a  white  resident  of 
Cincinnati,  and  reporter  of  the  Ga/ette,  for  giving 
to  a  young  runaway  slave  and  his  wife  "a  glass 
of  water  and  piece  of  bread" — a  crime  under  the 
fugitive  slave  law.  It  was  shown  that  the  ne- 
groes were  captured  and  were  shut  up  in  Con- 
nelly's room,  and  while  there  they  were  furnished 
''bread  and  water.''  It  was  further  shown,  that 
a  letter  was  written  by  Connelly,  as  a  Master 
Mason,  to  Judge  Matthews,  as  a  brother  Mason, 
in  which  he  confessed  that  he  had  "furnished  the 
negroes  with  food.'' 

But,  with  all  these  influential  relations,  the 
offense  was  prosecuted — Connelly  found  guilty 
and  was  sentenced  to  serve  time  of  imprisonment. 
''The  publication  of  these  facts  destroyed  Judge 
Matthews'  chance  for  Congress/'  and  that  his 
brother  Masons  obtained  full  credit  for  his  defeat 
can  not  well  be  doubted. 

It  is  not  stated  that  any  prfniiiw  had  been  made 
by  Judge  Matthews — none,  violate! ;  and  differed 
materially  from  ordinary  cases,  like  that  of  O. 
A.  Gardner,  a  Master  Mason,  arrested  for  rob- 
bing the  mails  at  Minneapolis,  who  said  in  court 
that  his  confession  was  made;  to  Postal  .Inspector 
Gould,  a  brother  Mason,  on  the  promise  that 
Gould,  as  a  fellow  Mason,  would  see  that  he  was 
acquitted — "that  his  acquittal  was  assured — that 
the  judge,  the  lawyers  on  both  sides,  and  most 
of  the  jurv  were1  .V^-so//*."' 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND  POLITICAL.  89 

Judge  Matthews  had  taken  the  oath  of  office 
as  district  attorney,  which  to  him  was  above  all 
other  oaths,  and  was  not  the  man  to  play  the 
Marshal  Ney  performance.  And  it  woidd  seem 
the  "defeat  for  congress"  was  not  ''the  conse- 
quence of  an  act  of  /i/s"  as  much  as  it  was  his 
declining  to  "act"  crooked  for  the  benefit  of  a 
brother  Mason. 

If  any  one  now  thinks  it  impossible  that  a  free 
people  in  the  North  could  be  so  influenced,  cowed, 
and  blinded  to  the  atrocities  of  slavery  upon  the 
free,  let  them  read  the  biography  of  Southern 
prisons.  It  was  a  day  of  jubilee  for  the  aboli- 
tionists (who  had  survived  the  horrid  cruelties 
that  made  "Libby"  a  paradise)  when  the  federal 
forces  took  possession  of  the  South.  The  Rev. 
Calvin  Fairbanks,  after  being  kidnaped  and 
serving  horrible  time  for  seventeen  years  and 
four  months  for  being  an  abolitionist,  was  re- 
leased from  the  state  prison  of  Kentucky,  at 
Frankfort,  by  a  special  order  of  President  Lin- 
coln. 

During  the  last  two  wardens  of  the  prison — 
Zeb  Ward  and  that  of  J.  W.  South — this  man  re- 
ceived thirty-five  thousand  stripes  on  his  bare 
body  with  a  strap  of  half-tanned  leather  a  foot 
and  a  half  long,  often  dipped  in  water  to  increase 
the  pain.  He  was  often  whipped  four  times  a 
day,  receiving  seventy  stripes  at  each  whipping; 
one  time  the  number  of  lashes  was  increased  to 
one  hundred  and  seven. 


1X1  THK    SOJ   IKRKI.    Ht'XTKKS. 

All  this  punishment  was  pretended  to  lie  in- 
flicted on  the  grounds  of  failure  to  perform  the 
daily  task  which  had  been  lixed  bevond  possi- 
bility— requiring  the  prisoner  to  weave  two  hun- 
dred and  eight  yards  of  hemp  cloth  daily. 

Early  in  1864,  Mr.  Lincoln  learned  through 
Miss  Tileston  of  the  cruelties  practiced  upon  Mr. 
Fairbanks,  and  sent  General  Fry  to  Kentucky 
with  orders  to  make  it  ''Fairbanks  Day"  at 
Frankfort  prison. 

"When  released.  Mr.  Fairbanks  says  he  crossed 
the  river  and  kissed  the  free  soil  in  Ohio."  when1 
ho  met  the  girl  who.  on  hearing  of  his  misfortune 
in  Massachusetts,  came  to  Ohio  and  engaged  as 
teacher  at  Hamilton,  and  then  at  Oxford,  supply- 
ing him  with  such  comforts  as  was  within  her 
power — worked  and  petitioned  and  watched  over 
the  border  for  many  long  years  with  the  love  of 
a  true  woman. 

Slavery  is  no  mon — the  dark  blotch  to  freedom 
has  been  wiped  out  with  the  best  blood  of  the 
nation.  It  was  a  contentious,  political  evil  as 
well.  But  slavery  of  the  colored  race  is  not  the 
only  evil,  the  only  danger,  that  can  arise  to  over- 
throw a  Republican  form  of  government. 

The  first  thirty-five  years  of  the  existence  of 
Ohio  -.is  a  stale  mav  bo  recognized,  in  an  edu- 
cational point  of  view,  as  the  period  of  the 
"Three  /»"*" — "rcaih'ii,  'ritrii,  ami  Arithmetic'1-'- 
for  state  legislation  made  it  so.  There  were  no 
public  schools,  no  academy,  but  one  higher  in- 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND    POLITICAL.  91 

stitution  iii  operation,  called  an  "Ohio  Uni- 
versity," located  at  Athens,  in  Athens  county. 
This  was  opened  for  students,  in  1809,  with  the 
classic  course ;  and  the  first  class,  numbering 

'  O 

two,  graduated  in  1815,  receiving  the  first  col- 
legiate degrees  ever  conferred  under  the  endow- 
ment for  education  by  the  act  of  1787 — John 
Hunter,  A.  M.,  and  Thomas  Ewing,  A.  M. 

This  university  was  in  financial  straits  all  this 
time  with  an  incomplete  corps  of  professors,  for  the 
reason  the  legislature  had  manipulated  the  land 
endowments  (46,000  acres)  from  time  to  time 
until  little  or  nothing  was  received,  where  large 
incomes  should  have  been  realized.  And  the 
good  intent  of  land  grants  for  educational  pur- 
poses in  Ohio  proved  a  signal  failure  in  common 
schools,  academies,  and  colleges. 

After  ineffectual  efforts  of  mongrel  state  uni- 
versities to  supply  the  pressing  wants  of  rising 
generations,  sectarian  institutions  multiplied 
rapidly,  and  the  state  soon  became  honored  witli 
numerous  chartered  seats  of  learning  representing 
all  religions  from  Roman  Catholic  (down,  or  up, 
which  ever  it  may  seem)  to  the  Free  Will  Bap- 
tist. Of  these,  Oberlin  has  taken  the  lead.  It 
was  chartered,  in  1834,  under  the  direction  of 
the  Congregational  Church,  with  a  theological 
seminary  attached  as  part  of  the  institution. 
Both  sexes  and  all  colors  have  been  admitted  to 
its  classes. 

During    the    struggle    in    Ohio    to    establish   a 


U2  THK    SCJt'IKllKL     Ht'NTKRS. 

satisfactory  system  of  education,  the  good  people 
of  Kentucky  claimed  to  be  greatly  in  advance  in 
regard  to  facilities,  and  sold  large  numbers  of 
scholarships  to  those  who  desired  to  embrace 
better  opportunities  to  obtain  an  education,  be- 
fore it  was  discovered  that  young  men  from  a  free 
state,  or  states,  attending  those  seats  of  learning 
had  little  or  no  spare  time  for  mental  culture, 
after  giving  the  physical  enough  attention  to 
keep  all  its  members  in  tact  ;  as  free-state  stu- 
dents were  obliged  to  tight  or  "eat  dirt/ 


School-house-  of  1851,  in  which  President  Garfu'Id  taught. 

The  writer  slill  holds  the  larger  end  of  an 
uncanceled  scholarship  in  one  of  the  then  lead- 
ing, but  now  defunct,  college  institutions. 

As  late  as  1S)>7,  there  was  no  public  school  system 
operating  in  Ohio.  But  the  year  following  a  law 
was  passed  for  the  purpose  of  adopting  a  system 
on  a  uniform  footing,  Still  it  required  that 


EDUCATIONAL,  SOCIAL,  AND    POLITICAL. 

teachers  should  be  qualified  only  in  reading, 
writing  and  arithmetic.  Amendments  and  im- 
provements, however,  went  on,  and 'in  1847  the 
"State  Teachers'  Association''  was  organized, 
and  deserves  great  credit  for  the  good  work  done 
and  still  doing  in  obtaining  beneficial  legislation 
and  raising  the  standard  of  teachers  and  the 
curriculum  of  "High  Schools."  And  at  the 
present  time  Ohio  compares  favorably  with  other 
states  in  regard  to  her  system  for  general  and 
liberal  education,  regardless  of  color  or  previous 
condition . 

Information  derived  from  newspapers  was 
measurably  lost — the  inefficient  postal  service 
prevented  the  circulation  of  metropolitan  papers  ; 
and  those  published  in  Ohio  for  half  a  century 
were  under  the  ban  of  slavery.  And  with  the 
censorship  of  Kentucky  and  the  cotton  states  it 
is  not  surprising  they  were  short-lived  and  un- 
attended with  prosperity.  The  first  paper  pub- 
lished in  the  North-west  was  printed  in  Cincin- 
nati, November  9,  1793,  under  the  name  of 
"The  Sentinel  of  the  North-western  Territory." 
The  journal  was  owned  and  edited  by  William 
Maxwell.  Newspapers  in  those  days  were  com- 
paratively small  and  poorly  executed  in  press- 
work  ;  and  changed  names,  ownership  or  ceased 
to  exist  so  frequently  that  not  a  few  attempts  at 
journalism  became  lost  to  history. 

During  the  territorial  days,  and  while  the 
seat  of  government  tarried  at  Chillicothe,  Mi\ 


94  THK    SQflRUEL    H  INTERS. 

Willis,  the  father  of  N.  P.,  the  poet,  author 
and  artist,  published  a  literary  paper  for  a  short 
time.  After  the  capital  became  permanentlv 
located  at  Columbus,  Philo  II.  Olmstead,  from 
!Si:i  to  ISIS,  published  "The  Western  Intel- 
ligencer"— then  changed  the  name  to  "Columbus 
Ga/ette"  and  in  due  time  to  "Columbus  Jour- 
nal." 

Small  as  these  and  other  beginnings  were  over 
the  settled  portions  of  the  state,  the  press  and 
its  influence  became  of  more  and  more  impor- 
tance, and  kept  pace  if  not  in  advance  of  manv 
other  leading  departments  connected  with  an  ad- 
vanced civilization.  As  ideas  beget  ideas,  so  in- 
ventions beget  inventions,  until  time  and  space 
are  no  more,  and  the  wild  elements  meekly  bow 
in  submission  to  the  will  and  works  of  man.  If 
John  (luttenberg,  Fust,  Mentel  or  Koster,  with 
their  little  inventions,  could  see  the  automatic 
working  of  one  of  those  mammoth  printing  ma- 
chines, which  noiselessly  move  with  such  rapid- 
itv,  exactness  and  intelligence — even  putting  hu- 
man volition  and  precision  to  shame — anv  one  or 
all  of  the  once  contesting  discoverers  would  stop 
disputing  in  astonished  wonderment  long  enough 
to  set  up  and  strike  oil'  on  their  own  inventions 
a  single  line,  in  quotations.  "Large  trees  from 
small  acorns  grow."  and  abandon  further  conten- 
tion, 

Newspaper  educators  at  an  early  day.  like  the 
schoolmaster,  had  a  limited  showing  in  a  coun- 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,  AND    POLITICAL.          95 

try  so  financially  short.  Editors  and  publishers 
could  not  conduct  the  business  without  a  given 
amount  of  support.  But  this  needful  require- 
ment was  too  manifestly  uncertain  to  justify  an 
expensive  venture  ;  for  there  was  little  or  no 
money  in  the  country,  nor  means  to  procure  it 
by  exchanges.  Still,  the  experiment  was  oc- 
casionally made,  but  most  generally  failed  even 
in  the  hands  of  the  most  economical  manage- 
ment and  moderate  expectations. 

The  following  is  a  brief  of  a  four-paged  paper, 
ten  by  fifteen  inches  in  size — "No.  33,  Vol.  I1' — 
dated  June  5,  1818.  This  paper  was  started  at 
the  county  seat  of  one  of  the  early  settled  locali- 
ties, and  in  agriculture  one  of  the  leading  counties 
in  the  state.  This  number  treats  of  the  follow- 
ing subjects  : 


VOLUME  I.]  JUNE  6,  181S.  [NUMBER  33. 

1.  Light  reading.  Traits  in  Washington  City 
Drawing-Room.  Mrs.  Monroe.  The  President. 
Virginians.  The  Belles.  Foreigners.  Etiquette. 
Foreign  Ministers.  The  Secretaries  of  Govern- 


96  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

ment  Departments.  Western  Opposition.  Amer- 
ican Manufacturers.  Essex  Junto.  Two  Difl'er- 
ent  Descriptions  of  Men  that  Inhabit  Virginia, 
Contrasted. 

2.  Foreign  News — Spain.    Major-Genera]  Jack- 
son's Letter  to  Gov.  Rubute,  Bowleg  Town,  Su- 
wanny,  April  20,  IS  IS.      Late  from   the  Army— 
Milledgeville  and  Indians.      Patriots  victorious — 
Marching  on  to  Oarraccas.     The  President  of  the 
United  States.      More  Specks  of  War  at    Detroit. 
The    Belt,  had    passed    through    the   Winnehago. 
Sack,  Fox  and  Ilickapoo   Nations.      Mercury  at 
Green  Bay  through  the  Winter,  2~>°.     Letter  from 
"Savannaa/'  April  30,  ISIS.      Letter  from  Porto 
Rico.     Letter  from  Upper  Canada.     Extract  from 
a  Vermont  Paper.      Expensiveness  of  the  Ground 
purchased  for  the    Bank  of  the    United   States   at 
Philadelphia,    being  One  Thousand    Dollars  per 
Front  Foot. 

3.  Obituaries.      Advertisements.      Court    Pro- 
ceedings.     Expulsion  of  Masons  from  the  Order. 
Patent    Pumps.       Paris    Papers.       One    Hundred 
and  Forty  Vessels   perished   in   the   late   Tremen- 
dous  Gale  along  the    English   Coast.      Injurious 
Effects  of  Flannel.      Masonic  Notice.      Prospects 
for    continuing    the    Publication    of    "The   Olive 
Branch.''      Advertisements. 

4.  Poetrv  —  ''Absent      Friends.        Defense     of 
Putnam.      Improvement  of  the   Loom  for  Weav- 
ing.     Sheriff   Sale   of   Accounts."      Jlis  own    In- 
cluded. 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND  POLITICAL.  97 

The  deplorable  condition  of  the  press  of  Ohio 
at  the  time  is  so  graphically  and  candidly  set 
forth  by  the  editors  of  the  Olive  Branch — the 
only  paper  published  in  the  county — in  their 
last  appeal  for  support,  is  better  illustrated  by 
reproducing  the  article  entire  : 

'PROSPECTS 
'Ton  CONTINUING  THE  PUBLICATION  OF 

"THE    OLIVE    BRANCH. 
"The  publishers  now  call  upon  the  citizens  of 
county,  and  the  countiy  adjacent,  to  deter- 


mine if  they  shall  continue  publishing  The  Olive 
Branch.  They  have  fully  and  firmly  determined 
to  discontinue  its  publication,  unless  the  number 
of  their  subscribers  is  considerably  increased. 
They  apprehend  their  present  number  will  not 
pay  the  expense  of  the  establishment ;  and  they 
do  not  think  themselves  able,  nor  are  they  under 
obligations,  to  lose  more  by  it  than  they  have  lost 
already. 

"If,  therefore,  the  citizens  of  the  county  are 
desirous  that  a  paper  should  be  published  at  this 
place,  and  if  any  think  this  worthy  of  their 
patronage,  let  them  declare  it  by  adding  their 
names  to  the  list  of  our  subscribers.  By  this 
declaration,  yea  or  nay,  when  fully  and  explicitly 
made  known,  we  shall  positively  abide. 

"Some  persons  ask,  'What  is  to  be  the  charac- 
ter of  our  paper?'  And  what  inducements  we 
7 


IKS  TIIK    SOJ'IRKKI.    IlfNTKUS. 

off  or  thorn  to  become  subscribers?  In  a  few 
words  we  will  tell  them  :  Its  character  shall  be 
truly  American  and  Republican.  Americans  bv 
birth  and  education,  we  have  no  partiality  for 
European  institutions  or  policy.  Republicans  in 
principle,  we  will  never  disseminate  aristocratical 
or  monarchical  doctrines.  We  will  ever  oppose, 
with  our  utmost  endeavors,  their  progress.  We 
do  fearlessly  declare  perpetual  war  against  them. 
Believing  our  forms  of  government  infinitolv 
superior  to  any  ever  before  witnessed,  we  will 
rather  perish  in  their  defense  than  sit  silent  spec- 
tators of  their  destruction. 

"  We  will  ever  respect  and  inculcate  virtue, 
both  public  and  private,  and  deprecate  vice  in  all 
its  daxxling  forms.  Nothing  shall  ever  appear  in 
our  columns  to  disturb  the  present  public  tran- 
quillity, unless  wo  see  danger  lurking  therein, 
which  duty  requires  us  to  expose  to  public  view. 
We  hold  the  Christian  religion  in  sacred  venera- 
tion, and  shall  never,  therefore,  suller  an  asper- 
sion to  be  cast  upon  it  through  our  columns. 

''As  the  happiness  of  most  of  mankind  lies  in 
their  social  domestic  circles,  we  shall  hold  them 
sacred.  We  will  never  designedly  cast  into  them 
the  apple  of  discord  ;  nor  will  we  knowingly 
cause  a  pang  to  the  honest  Iiefirt  or  a  blush  upon 
'  the  modest  cheek.1 

'"The  indiiccmcntH  we  offer  are  : 

" /V/'.s-f — A  weekly  account  of   the   most    impor- 


KDUC'ATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND    POLITICAL.  99 

tant  events  and  transactions  occurring  in  our  own 
country. 

"  Secondly — An  account  of  such  as  transpire  in 
other  parts  of  the  globe  affecting  us  ;  and  among 
these,  every  tiling  important  relative  to  our  Mex- 
ican and  South  American  neighbors  will  have  a 
preference. 

"  Thirdly — The  most  important  state  papers 
and  documents  relating  to  or  coming  from  our 
government. 

"  Fourthly — Well-written  essays,  either  original 
or  extracted,  on  political,  moral  and  scientific 
subjects,  and  relating  to  the  topography  and 
geography  of  our  country. 

"  Fifthly — A  view  of  the  proceedings  of  our 
state  and  national. legislatures,  and  a  strict  exam- 
ination of  the  laws  passed  by  them. 

' '  Sixthly — Literary  articles  which  convey  in- 
struction with  amusement  will  find  a  niche  in  our 
paper.  We  shall  not,  however,  seek  to  amuse 
unless  we  can  at  the  same  time  instruct.  To  ex- 
cite or  gratify  the  public  taste  for  amusement 
alone  we  consider  dangerous  to  our  freedom.  By 
such  means  Pericles  destroyed  the  liberties  of 
Athens,  and  Cirsar  of  Rome.  Modern  France, 
too,  had  her  Pericles  and  her  Ca?sar ;  she  fol- 
lowed them,  and  she  is  now  ruing  her  folly. 
Similar  must  be  our  fate  when  we  follow  after  the 
siren  song  of  amusement.  We  will  never  be  the 
willing  instruments  of  thus  sapping  our  free  insti- 
unions.  If  our  paper  can  not  find  a  sufficient 
support  without  this,  let  it  go  '  to  the  tomb  of 


100  THK    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

the  Capulots.'  For  wo  will  sooner  breast  the 
torrent  of  public  feeling  on  this  subject,  though 
we  are  swept  by  it  into  the  deep  bosom  of  de- 
struction, than  glide  upon  its  surface  and  trim 
our  barques  to  its  course. 

"IlKNICK,    DoAX   &  CO." 

Although  ably  edited — containing  interesting, 
well-written  and  well-selected  articles,  the  ver- 
dict was  "perpetual  suspension."  The  inhabitants 
of  neither  town  nor  country  cared  to  become 
"readers  of  newspapers."  The  agrarian  element 
of  society  had  not  extended  to  business  transac- 
tions. The  contracted  condition  of  the  "circu- 
lating medium"  was  such  that  it  became  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  ignore  every  luxury  that  re- 
quired "spot  cash  ;"  while  state  laws  made  the 
credit  system  so  dangerous,  honest  people  kept 
as  free  as  possible  from  financial  obligations. 
They  did  not  wish  to  take  the  risk  of  seeing  their 
names  posted  in  public  places,  stating  the  time 
the  indebtedness  would  be  sold  by  the  sheriff  at 
public  outcry  to  the  highest  bidder. 

And  the  citi/en  continued  on  his  even  way, 
enjoying  the  chase — catching  wolves  and  foxes  ; 
and  hunting  the  deer,  turkey  and  squirrel  ;  and 
in  summer  tilling  a  few  acres  of  corn — a  small 
"patch"  of  ilax — enough  potatoes,  beans,  pump- 
kins, and  gourds  for  the  use  of  the  family. 
The  soil  produced  well,  and  with  but  little  labor 
enough  corn  could  be  raised  for  family  meal  and 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND  POLITICAL. 

to  winter  the  small  amount  of  stock — the  fire- 
wood was  secured  from  wind-falls  in  the  "dead- 
ning,"  and  with  a  horse  and  cow,  a  few  sheep, 
and  a  good  dog,  the  "squirrel  hunter"'  became 
wonderfully  well  satisfied  with  his  environment, 
and  had  no  desire  for  change.  The  amount  he 
knew  of  things  transpiring  in  the  outside  world 
was  obtained  by  the  word  of  mouth  in  the  regu- 
lar line  of  communication. 

The  women  carded  the  wool  and  hackled  the 
flax,  and  spun  and  wove  the  same  ;  and  from 
year  to  year  there  were  no  changes  in  household 
appearances  or  landed  possessions.  The  "dead- 
ning,"  however,  was  a  little  larger  in  area,  in 
order  to  keep  up  the  easily-obtained  supply  of 
fire-wood,  and  to  increase  the  amount  of  the 
natural  grasses  and  green  things  in  summer  for 
the  benefit  of  the  stock. 

All  domestic  animals  subsisted  on  what  nature 
furnished  in  the  woods  during  spring  and  sum- 
mer, and  each  individual  owner  had  an  ear-mark 
for  hogs  and  cattle  recorded  at  the  county-seat, 
which  gave  security  against  mistakes,  and 
when  animals  became  lost  furnished  information 
of  ownership  and  acted  as  a  substitute  for  a 
square  in  the  "lost"  column  of  some  newspaper. 
It  must  be  remembered  that  Ohio  was  not  settled 
all  over  at  once.  It  came  into  the  Union  an  im- 
mense wilderness,  and  much  of  it  remained  unoccu- 
pied for  long  periods.  The  first  tree  cut,  in  Har- 
din  countv,  was  cut  for  bees  in  1837 — a  dead 


102  TIIIC    StJt'IIlREL    HUNTERS. 

black-walnut,  seventy-two  feet  to  the  first  limb. 
And  as  the  counties  became  organized  and  set- 
tled the  inhabitants  all  commenced  at  the  same 
point — the  same  style  of  cabin  and  like  simplic- 
ity— benches  were  used  for  chairs,  earth  for  floor- 
ing and  carpet,  forked  sticks  driven  into  the 
ground  with  cross  poles  for  bedsteads,  clap-boards 
for  bed-cords,  and  pond-grass  for  feathers,  a 
single  pot  and  frying-pan,  with  a  few  pewter 
dishes,  constituted  the  primitive  outfit,  sooner  or 
later,  for  every  county  in  the  state. 

The  immigrants  who  pushed  forward  into  the 
interior  counties  suffered  most  for  want  of  mills 
and  from  the  high  price  of  freight,  and  merchan- 
dise, as  salt,  flour,  and  other  necessaries  of  life, 
all  came  from  Chillicothe  or  Zanesville.  Salt 
was  ten  and  twelve  cents  a  pound,  calico  one  dol- 
lar a  yard,  coffee  seventy-five  cents,  and  whisky 
two  dollars  a  gallon. 

High  prices  ruled  in  all  new  settlements  long 
after  they  had  been  reduced  in  and  at  the  vicinity 
of  Chillicothe  and  Zanesville  ;  and  which,  too,  was 
only  partly  owing  to  exorbitant  rates  for  trans- 
portation. So  little  and  so  few  were  articles  pur- 
chased, that  pioneer  merchants  did  not  enter  the 
interior  counties  of  the  state  for  many  years,  and 
orders  for  flour,  and  salt,  and  other  necessaries, 
accompanied  by  the  silver,  would  be  forwarded 
generally  by  the  bearer  of  the  order,  as  no  regu- 
lar mail  or  line  of  transportation  was  run  from 
one  settlement  to  another.  For  want  of  roads 


EDUCATIONAL,   SOCIAL,   AND    POLITICAL.        103 

the  inconvenience  was  tolerated,  as  it  did  not  de- 
tract much  from  the  power  of  the  inhabitants  in 
every  part  of  the  state  from  living  well  and  liv- 
ing easy.  Still  there  were  a  few  from  isolation 
or  improvidence  suffered  hardships  and  unpleas- 
ant conditions,  especially  in  the  interior  counties. 

In  the  fall  of  1803,  Henry  Berry,  a  Welshman, 
came  to  this  country  to  establish  a  home,  and 
leaving  his  wife  and  smaller  children  in  Phila- 
delphia, Pa.,  took  his  two  boys,  one  nine  and  the 
other  eleven  years  old,  and  put  up  a  small  cabin 
in  the  interior  of  Delaware  county,  fifteen  miles 
from  the  nearest  one  of  the  three  families  that 
constituted  the  white  inhabitants.  At  this  time 
the  country  was  full  of  Indians  and  wild  animals, 
and  was  distant  from  sources  of  supplies  seventy- 
five  to  one  hundred  miles.  The  father  was  so  in- 
fatuated with  the  country,  he  hurriedly  erected 
a  small  cabin  of  such  timber  as  he  and  his  boys 
could  handle  ;  and  when  covered,  but  without 
floor,  chimney,  or  fire-place,  and  without  daub- 
ing or  chinking,  he  fixed  the  children  a  place .  to 
sleep,  started  back  for  Philadelphia,  hoping  to 
get  the  rest  of  his  family  West  before  the  cold 
weather  set  in.  When  he  reached  Philadelphia 
he  found  his  wife  dangerously  sick  with  a  pro- 
tracted fever,  and  before  she  was  able  to  travel 
Mr.  Berry  became  sick,  and  winter  came  on,  and 
he  Avas  unable  to  return  until  the  June  fol- 
lowing. 

The  boys  had  not  been  heard  from  ;  the  winter 


104  TIIK    S<*riKKKI.    Ill   NTKKS. 

had  been  unusually  severe,  and  tliev  had  boon 
left  with  but  a  short  amount  of  provisions,  with- 
out a  gun,  surrounded  by  Indians  and  wild  beasts, 
and  were  compelled  to  live  upon  such  animals  as 
they  could  capture;  and  with  no  fireplace  or 
chimney  they  passed  a  cold  winter  in  that  open 
cabin.  And  when  the  father  returned  with  the 
family,  he  found  the  boys  had  cleared  enough 
ground  for  a  largo  garden  and  had  vegetables 
growing  from  the  seeds  they  had  brought  with 
them  from  Wales.  Of  course  the  bovs  s tillered 
much,  but  like  the  one  on  the  burning  deck,  they 
heroically  stood  their  ground  regardless  of  con- 
sequence. 

But  the  man  who  would  refuse  cornbread  and 
carrv  a  bushel  of  wheat  seventy-five  miles  on  his 
shoulder,  to  get  it  ground,  is  not  properly  a  sul>- 
ject  of  pitv  or  sympathy. 

He  fore  the  state  had  reached  its  fortieth  anni- 
vorsarv,  almost  all  parental  heads  establishing 
homes  in  this  country,  prior  to  the  opening  of 
the  Krie  Canal  (1S*2">),  could,  at  the  sound  of  a 
dinner  horn,  call  in  a  large  familv  of  well-grown 
children,  numbering  a  "baker's  do/en."  more  or 
less;  and  oftener  than  otherwise,  without  tin- 
loss  of  a  single  addition. 

The  ratio  of  natural  increase  of  population 
was  satisfactory,  and  death  rate  was  small.  The 
climate  was  healthful;  living  simple  and  easy; 
house-keeping  unromplieated  and  destitute  of 
stvle.  Rural  homes  were  all  alike  unostenta- 


EDUCATIONAL,    SOCIAL,    AND    POLITICAL.       105 

tious,  and  early  marriages  were  seldom,  if  ever, 
deferred  on  account  of  immaturity  or  financial 
circumstances  ;  and  large  families  became  fash- 
ionable. Seldom  less  than  ten,  and  only  occasion- 
ally more  than  twenty  children,  were  added  to 
the  household. 

People  may  have  been  poor  in  accumulated 
wealth,  but  it  was  not  felt  or  despised.  A  father 
with  eight  or  ten  robust  sons  had  a  sure  founda- 
tion for  a  hope  to  see  the  destruction  of  the  sur- 
rounding forest,  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  the 
transformation  of  a  portion  of  the  wilderness 
into  fields  of  waving  grain,  fruits  and  flowers. 

It  is  possible,  and  has  been  no  uncommon 
thing  for  heads  of  large  families  to  live  to  see 
their  great-great-grand-children ;  for  it  would 
seem  true,  as  in  history,  longevity  and  children 
are  very  nearly  related.  As  a  rule,  large  families 
are  healthy,  having  inherited  a  full  measure  of 
vital  resistance.  Records  of  centenarians  show 
that  both  males  and  females  of  those  who  have 
gone  into  the  second  century  have  been  nearly  all 
parents  of  large  families  ;  and  read  quite  similar 
to  the  following  :  "Alexander  Hockaday  has  just 
celebrated  his  one  hundred  and  twelfth  birthday. 
His  wife,  a  few  years  younger,  is  still  living. 
They  were  blessed  with  twelve  children,  eleven 
of  whom  are  living  near  the  aged  couple  with  their 
numerous  posterity." 

No  doubt  the  existing  conditions  of  a  desirable 
new  country,  and  the  exemption  from  avarice, 


106  THK    StJUtRUKL    HUNTERS. 

penury  or  speculation,  with  the  enjoyment  of 
that  happy  state  unknown  to  wealth,  want  or 
war,  were  favorable  to  longevity  and  natural  in- 
crease. States  of  the  mind  and  existing  impres- 
sions, like  acquired  habits,  are  transmissible  as 
certainly  as  that  of  the  resemblance  of  physical 
and  moral  qualities.  And  with  the  pioneer  pos- 
terity, much  of  that  strong  manifestation  of 
character  and  mental  endowment  was  due  to  the 
multiplicity  and  salutary  combinations  of  causes. 
Blood  will  tell,  but  in  addition  to  descent,  pos- 
terity had  all  the  winning  influences  of  a  quiet, 
simple  and  easy  mode  of  living — pure  air,  earth 
and  water,  filled  with  inspiration  to  greatness 
and  dispensed  by  nature  to  those  who  delight  to 
worship  within  her  temple  and  partake  wisdom 
from  beasts,  birds  and  flowers. 


1'KOKKSSIONS,    KTC. 

practice  medicine  and  surgery.  A  certificate  of 
qualification  from  the  Board  of  Censors  was  in- 
sufficient of  itself  to  entitle  the  holder  to  prac- 
tice, and  required  a  license  from  the  court  of 
common  pleas,  certified  by  the  secretary  of  the 
medical  district,  and  placed  on  record  in  the 
county  in  which  the  applicant  proposed  to  prac- 
tice medicine  and  surgery. 

The  following  forms  were  used  : 

o 

"CERTIFICATE  OF  QUALIFICATION. 

"STATK  OF  OHIO, 

"MKDICAL  DISTRICT  No.  o. 

"To  Whom  It  Mni/  Concent  . 

"These  presents  certify.  That  Giles  S.  B.  Hemp- 
stead,  of  Portsmouth,  in  the  county  of  Scioto, 
appeared  for  examination,  and  is  found  to  be 
duly  qualified  to  practice  physic  and  surgery. 

"In  testimony  whereof,  I,  President  of  said 
Board,  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and  affixed 
the  seal  of  said  Board  at  Marietta,  this,  the  fifth 
day  of  November,  1818. 

"E.    PKKKINS,    7Vr.s-/</o</. 

"COLUMBI'S    BlEKCK,    Scrfctil /•»/.'' 

"LICENSE. 

"Know  all  men  by  these  presents,  That  I.— 

,    President  of   the   Second  Circuit   Court   of 

Common  Pleas  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  by  the  au- 
thority in  me  vested,  do  license  Giles  S.  B.  Hemp- 


110  THE    SQCIRKKL    HfXTKKS. 

stead  to  practice  physic  and  surgery  within  this 
state. 

"In  testimony  whereof ,  I  have  hereunto  set  mv 
hand  and  official  seal  of  the  County  of  Scioto 
this,  the  twenty-third  day  of  November,  A.  D. 
1818. 

1 ' President  Court  Common  Picas." 

"I  do  hereby  certify  the  above  to  be  a  true 
copy  of  the  license  granted  to  Giles  S.  B.  Hemp- 
stead.  "COLUMBTS  BlKRCK, 

"Secretary  Third  Medical  District." 

Each  medical  district  kept  a  record  of  all  cer- 
tificates and  licenses  issued  within  the  area  des- 
ignated for  public  inspection,  that  all  might 
know  who  were  qualified  to  assume  the  respon- 
sibility. 

The  censors  and  members  licensed  composed  a 
list  of  the  learned  and  able  men  of  Ohio,  Almost 
every  one  licensed  brought  with  him  a  certificate 
of  qualification  from  state  censors  of  some  state 
east,  which  was  copied  into  the  records  kept  by 
the  censors  in  Ohio. 

These  "Diplomas"  were  quite  similar  in  char- 
acter and  expression,  the  following  being  a  fair 
sample  : 

'•DIPLOMA. 

"We,  the  President  and  other  officers  of  the 
Incorporated  Medical  Society  of  Dtitchess  County, 
in  the  State  of  New  York,  having  received  from 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  Ill 

our  censors  full  assurance  of  the  competent 
knowledge  of  Columbus  Bierce  in  the  theory  and 
practice  of  medicine,  and  from  Doctor  John 
Cooper  and  others,  his  former  preceptors,  the 
like  assurance  of  his  standing  and  moral  deport- 
ment, do  by  the  powers  vested  in  us  confer  upon 
him,  the  said  Columbus  Bierce,  license  to  prac- 
tice physic  and  surgery  and  midwifery  in  any 
part  of  this  state,  and  recommend  him  to  the 
confidence  of  our  fellow-citizens,  and  the  friendly 
attention  of  our  brethren,  as  a  person  of  good 
morals  and  liberal  attainments. 

"In  testimony  whereof  we  have  sub- 
scribed   these    presents  with   our 
names  and  caused  our  seal  of  in- 
corporation to  be  annexed. 
"Done  'at  Poughkeepsie,  this,   the   loth  May, 
A.  D.  1816.  "JoHN  THOMAS,  President. 

"Attest:   JOHN   BARNES,  Secretary. 

"I  certify  the  above  to  be  a  true  copy  from  the 
original.  "C.  BIERCE, 

" Secretary  Third  Medical  District,  Ohio. 

The  censors  and  society  of  the  third  district 
met  semi-annually,  alternately  at  Athens  and  Ma- 
rietta, and  the  place  of  meeting  was  generally  at 
the  residence  of  some  citizen,  who  volunteered  in 
advance  to  entertain  the  doctors.  An  applicant 
for  a  certificate  or  license  to  practice  medicine 
was  required  by  law,  to  file  with  the  Board  of 


112  TIIK    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

Censors  a  certificate  of  good  moral  character  and 
a  fee  of  ten  dollars. 

A  diploma  from  the  censors,  approved  by  the 
court  in  the  county  where  the  practitioner  re- 
sided, entitled  the  holder  to  a  membership  of  the 
medical  society  in  his  district,  auxiliary  to  the 
state  society.  Any  member  failing  to  attend  a 
semi-annual  meeting  subjected  himself  to  a  fine, 
notwithstanding  many  were  obliged  to  ride  horse- 
back more  than  two  hundred  miles  to  make  the 
round  trip.  The  attendance  of  these  meetings, 
as  the  records  show,  was  good,  and  the  proceed- 
ings compare  favorably  with  those  of  the  present 
day. 

Among  the  standing  resolutions,  members  were 
"requested  to  exhibit  specimens  of  indigenous 
medicinal  plants  for  inspection/'  and  "Dr.  S.  B. 
Hildreth  to  procure  and  -keep  on  hand  at  all 
times  genuine  vaccine  matter,  and  to  furnish  the 
same  to  members  of  the  society  on  their  applica- 
tion and  payment  therefor/' 

At  one  of  these  semi-annual  meetings  the  fol- 
lowing met  unanimous  favor,  vi/  : 

"Rewired,  That  each  individual  member  of  this 
society,  at  the  next  meeting,  furnish  in  writing 
an  account  of  such  remedies  as  are  known  and 
used  by  the  people  in  their  several  vicinities, 
not  hitherto  generally  employed  by  the  faculty." 

The  import  of  this  resolution  was  of  much 
more  significance  than  it  would  seem  at  the  pres- 
ent time.  Then,  domestic  medicine,  or  use  of 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  113 

indigenoas  plants,  by  a  poor  and  sparsely  inhab- 
ited country,  was  general  for  diseases  incident  to 
locality.  And  to  receive  written  statements  on 
the  subject  from  various  parts,  covering  a  large 
portion  of  a  great  state,  by  men  of  science,  con- 
stituted an  instructive  record  in  diseases,  reme- 
dies and  results. 

Another  resolution  seems  to  have  been  adopted 
as  the  rule  of  the  society,  "to  report  all  accidents 
requiring  surgical  interference."  This  may  have 
been  from  the  fact  there  lias  always  remained  a 
suspicion  of  the  dual  character  of  tilings  coming 
under  the  law  of  accidents,  and  from  which 
probably  originated  the  saying  that  "trouble 
never  comes  singly.''  This  dual  character  of  odd 
occurrences  has  been  noticed,  and  noted  more 
frequently  by  physicians  and  surgeons,  perhaps, 
than  by  those  of  any  other  calling. 

This  may  not  have  been  uppermost  in  the  mind 
of  the  Doctor  when  he  announced  to  the  society  that 
he  wished  to  report  two  unusual  cases  of  "stuck 
halls'"  that  came  under  his  notice  at  the  same 
time,  happening  to  two  squirrel  hunters  in  the 
same  neighborhood.  A  young  man  after  squir- 
rels, became  confused  in  regard  to  the  order  in 
which  the  loading  materials  should  be  used,  and 
put  the  ball  down  first.  The  ramrod,  however, 
was  provided  with  a  remedy  for  such  loss  of 
memory,  and  the  screw  in  the  end  of  the  rod 
was  firmly  fixed  in  the  body  of  the  ball  ;  but 
10 


114  THE     SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

no  adequate  force  seemed  at  hand  to  withdraw 
the  ramrod,  as  the  end  projecting  beyond  the 
mnz/le  was  so  short  the  operator  was  obliged  to 
apply  force  by  means  of  the  teeth.  After  mak- 
ing many  unsuccessful  efforts  a  happy  thought 
seemed  born  with  the  necessity,  and  he  felt  as- 
sured if  he  had  the  ball  once  started  it  could 
be  withdrawn.  On  this  theory  lie  worked  just 
enough  powder  in  at  the  "touch -hole"  of  the 
"priming-pan,""  as  he  judged,  to  give  the  ball 
a  slight  impetus  in  the  right  direction.  And 
with  the  end  of  the  ramrod  between  the  teeth, 
and  great  toe  upon  the  trigger,  applied  full 
force,  adding  that  of  the  powder  by  means  of 
the  toe,  which,  to  his  surprise,  lost  the  ramrod 
and  left  an  ugly  looking  hole  in  the  neck  at 
the  base  of  the  skull.  Treatment  for  gunshot 
wound — recovered. 

The  other  "stuck  ball"  was  caused  by  a  lad 
of  German  extraction  failing  to  close  the  ''prim- 
ing pan''  to  his  flint-lock  before  loading,  and  con- 
sequently the  powder  nearly  all  went  out  at  the 
"touch  hole''  as  the  ball  was  pushed  down  the 
barrel.  Enough,  however,  remained  with  the 
"priming"'  to  drive  the  ball  about  half  way  out. 
At  this  point  it  remained  fixed,  and  the  amateur 
gunner  could  neither  get  it  out  nor  push  it  down. 

Like  a  dutiful  son,  reverencing  parental  wis- 
dom, returned  to  the  house  with  the  gun,  and  gave 
a  statement  of  the  facts.  After  being  equally  un- 
successful in  the  removal  of  the  obstruction,  the 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  115 

father  looked  carefully  over  the  make  of  the  gun, 
and  said,  in  bad  English  :  "Shon,  oh,  Shon  !  did 
you  cshoot  do  gunne  mid  a  zingle  d rigger  ur 
mid  de  double  d  rigger?"  John  replied  that  it- 
was  shot  with  a  single  trigger,  which  so  enraged 
the  father  that  he  disremembercd  the  command- 
ments, and  with  irreligious  prefixes  declared 
any  fool  might  know,  to  shoot  a  double-triggered 
gun  "mid  a  xingle  drigger,  the  ball  would  go 
only  half  way  out."  The  case  was  considered 
hopeless. 

These  short  reports  bear  the  only  appearances 
of  matter  for  levity  that  the  writer  has  found  in 
looking  over  volumes  of  manuscript  proceedings 
of  the  biennial  meetings. 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Medical  So- 
ciety, in  1819,  an  accident  is  given,  as  stated, 
"not  for  the  surgery  there  was  in  it,  a  simple 
fracture  of  the  left  clavicle,  but  on  account  of 
the  odd  manner  in  which  it  occurred  and  the  in- 
structive sequel.  "The  patient  was  but  recently 
from  New  York  City,  an  estimable  young  man, 
but  not  versed  in  the  ways  of  the  Western 
world,"  .  .  .  "A  squirrel  he  killed  lodged 
in  another  tree  on  its  way  to  the  ground.  The 
branch  that  held  the  unfortunate  animal  was  an 
offshoot  of  an  ancient  sycamore  which  had  in 
some  past  age  of  the  world  been  broken  off 
about  thirty  feet  from  the  ground  ;  but,  like 
most  sycamores,  it  was  not  willing  to  give  up 
the  ghost,  and  threw  out  incipient  branches 


116  Till'}     SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

along  the  remaining  section  of  the  trunk  ;  and 
at  the  top  or  point  of  fracture  a  crown  of  short 
limbs  adorned  the  mammoth  stump.  It  was  one 
of  these  top  branches  that  held  the  squirrel. 

"After  failing  to  dislodge  the  animal  by  the 
usual  methods,  he  went  up  the  tree,  and  on 
the  top  of  the  stump  lie  found  a  good  place  to 
stand  and  bi'ing  the  game  in  reach  above  his 
head.  In  the  act,  the  decayed  wood  on  which 
his  feet  were  placed  gave  way  and  let  the  hunter 
down  to  the  base,  in  a  dark  tube,  six  feet  in  di- 
ameter, without  door  or  window,  and  no  possi- 
bility of  returning  by  the  opening  he  entered." 

"As  soon  as  he  recovered  from  the  shock,  and 
took  in  the  situation,  he  began  making  voice 
signals  of  distress  ;  but  the  caliber  of  the  horn 
of  his  dilemma  was  too  large  and  long  to  be 
blown  effectually  by  an  excited  and  injured  asth- 
matic. He  did,  however,  the  best  lie  could, 
thinking  if  those  on  earth  could  not  answer  his 

o 

prayers,  ample  facilities  had  been  obtained  for 
being  heard  from  above. 

o  •/ 

"Fortunately  a  fisherman  had  not  proceeded 
far  up  the  river  before  he  heard  groans  of  dis- 
tress, that  seemed  to  come  from  the  water  beneath 
his  boat,  and  badly  frightened,  pulled  ashore. 
Still  the  muffled  cries  of  human  distress  were 
unceasing,  and  apparently  in  all  directions  among 
the  trees — soon  a  man  was  located  imprisoned  in 
the  interior  of  a  scycamore.  Friends  were  noti- 
fied, axes  procured  and  the  hunter  relieved,  who 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  117 

gave  many  thanks,  requesting  that  nothing  be 
said  about  it.7' 

"He  soon  recovered  from  the  injury  and  to 
show  there  is  no  disposition  in  the  human  mind 
so  universal  as  that  which  'locks  the  stable  door 
after  the  horse  is  stolen,'  long  after,  his  friends 
smiled  but  said  nothing,  as  they  looked  upon 
a  hatchet  suspended  to  his  hunting  belt."  And 
circumstances  make  it  highly  probable  that  no 
one  connected  with  those  meeting  with  the  acci- 
dents named,  were  in  any  way  related  to  the  en- 
•rolled  men  of  renown,  known  in  history  as  the 
"Squirrel  Hunters  of  Ohio;"  all  are  not  Jews 
that  dwell  in  Jerusalem. 

Doctors  were  mostly  hunters,  consequently  the 
hunter  was  not  necessarily  an  ignorant  man, 
still,  in  a  population  of  many  thousands,  the  excep- 
tions might  have  appeared  quite  numerous.  As 
a  rule  he  became  a  man  of  extensive  information, 
and  hunted,  not  as  a  primitive  Darwin-tailed 
quadruped  "making  a  struggle  for  life  with  a 
club,"  yet  it  was  to  supply  the  necessities  of  ex- 
istence all  the  same.  Subsistence  was,  however, 
easily  obtained,  and  did  not  tax  much  of  his 
time,  and  he  had  abundance  of  leisure  to  devote 
to  experiment  and  observation.  He  was  a  worker 
in  the  vineyard,  with  the  naturalist,  geologist, 
botanist,  biologist,  archaeologist,  etc.,  and  the 

o  '  O  i 

aggregate  co-operative  labor  accomplished  be- 
came manifestly  incalculably  great.  With  object 
lessons  daily  before  him,  in  due  time  he  became 


118  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

familiar  with  the  habits,  instincts,  intelligence 
and  peculiarities  of  beasts, birds  and  insects, as  well 
as  acquainted  with  the  geology,  mineralogy  and 
botany  of  the  district  in  which  he  resided.  Nothing 
escaped  observation,  from  a  spear  of  anemone  to 
the  spreading  oaks  of  the  forest.  The  names 
of  all  beasts,  birds,  plants  and  minerals  with 
characters,  habits  and  qualities  could  be  given 
by  the  accurate  and  extensive  observers  and  in- 
vestigators who  were  found  among  resident 
squirrel  hunters. 


Hunter  and  Dog. 

The  man  with  dog  and  gun  could  answer 
all  questions  ;  was  the  only  encyclopedia  the 
collector  had  to  consult ;  the  formulator  of 
scientific  facts  desired  no  other,  could  ask  for  no 
better.  The  Doctor  in  early  days,  was  a  man  of 
science  and  literary  attainments.  And  his  avo- 


PROFESSIONS,     ETC.         .  119 

cation  brought  him  in  contact  with  the  hunter 
and  his  valuable  collections,  observations  and  in- 
vestigations, and  in  this  way  became  the  safety 
deposit  of  facts  relating  to  natural  history  and 
collateral  branches  ;  in  fact,  the  medical  profes- 
sion constituted  a  small  army  of  zealous  collect- 
ors and  investigators — such  men  as  Doctor  Ezekiel 
Porter,  president  of  the  first  medical  society  in 
Ohio  ;  Doctors  Eliphas  Perkins,  John  Cotton  and 
Samuel  P.  Hildreth,  of  Washington  County  ; 
Doctors  Ebenezer  Bowen,  Chancy  F.  Perkins  and 
Columbus  Bierce,  of  Athens  County ;  Doctors 
Robinson  and  James  S.  Hibbard,  of  Meigs  ;  Doc- 
tors Felix  Reignier  and  J.  G.  Hamlin,  of  Gallia  ; 
Doctor  Giles  S.  B.  Hempstead,  of  Scioto  ;  Doc- 
tor Alexander  M.  Millan,  of  Morgan;  Doctor 
Joseph  Whipple,  of  Hocking ;  Doctor  Joseph 
Scott,  of  Madison  ;  Doctor  Ezra  Chandler,  of 
Mttskingkum ;  Doctor  Jared  P.  Kirtland,  of 
Cuyahoga,  and  others  equally  well  known  and 
respected  in  other  parts  of  the  country  and  who 
were  equally  identified  with  the  history  of  the 
state. 

To  Dr.  Samuel  P.  Hildreth  we  owe  the  first 
extended  and  connected  account  of  the  geology 
of  the  Ohio  Valley.  His  published  notes  on  the 
salt  springs  and  interesting  observations  on  the 
coal  deposits,  with  descriptions  of  the  rocks,  fos- 
sils, organic  remains,  illustrated  by  drawings  of 
plants  and  shells,  constitutes  one  of  the  most 
comprehensive  documents  that  lias  ever  been 


120  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

made  of  the  geology  of  the  state.  And  it  was 
through  his  influence  the  legislature  took  steps 
for  a  geological  survey,  which  was  ordered  March 
27,  1837,  with  a  corps  composed  of  doctors 
chiefly— Professor  W.  W.  Mather,  Dr.  S.  P.  Hil- 
dreth,  Dr.  Jared  P.  Kirtland,  Dr.  John  Locke, 
Dr.  C.  Briggs,  Col.  T.  W.  Foster,  and  Col.  Charles 
Wittlesey. 

Dr.  Kirtland  was  a  model  specimen  of  those 
noble  men  with  great  hearts,  clear  heads  and  dil- 
ligent  hands.  He  was  no  closet  naturalist,  but  a 
student  of  nature  in  its  full  degree.  In  1829, 
while  studying  the  unios  or  fresh-water  mussels, 
he  discovered  that  authors  and  teachers  of  con- 
chology  had  made  nearly  double  the  number  of 
species  which  are  warrantable.  Names  had  been 
given  to  species  in  which  was  only  a  difference  of 
form  due  to  males  and  females  of  the  same  spe- 
cies. The  fraternity  of  naturalists  in  the  United 
States  and  Europe  were  astonished  because  of 
the  value  of  the  discovery  and  the  source  ivhence  it 
came.  There  were  hundreds  and  probably  thou- 
sands of  professors  who  had  observed  the  unios 
and  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  inventing  new  names 
for  the  varieties.  "A  practicing  physician  in  the 
backwoods  of  Ohio  had  shattered  the  entire  no- 
menclature of  the  naiads."* 

At  the  Cincinnati  meeting  of  the  American 
Association  in  1852,  Professor  Kirtland  produced 


l:Cbarles  Whittlesey. 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  121 

specimens  of  unios  of  both  sexes,  from  their 
conception  through  all  stages  to  the  perfect  ani- 
mal and  its  shell.  Agassiz  was  present  and  sus- 
tained his  views,  and  said  they  were  likewise 
sustained  by  the  most  eminent  naturalists  of 
Europe.*  And  it  is  worthy  of  remembrance  that 
it  is  only  those  who  base  their  conclusions  on  ob- 
served nature  that  make  permanent  reputations, 
and  show  that  theory  and  discussion  do  not  settle 
any  thing  worthy  a  place  in  science. 

The  field  was  long  and  wide  as  it  was  inviting 
to  the  man  of  science.  And  the  large  corps  of 
medical  men  dispersed  over  the  state,  working  in 
concert  with  each  other,  and  in  daily  contact  with 
the  observing  hunter,  constituted  an  academy  of 
science  that  will  not  likely  ever  find  its  parallel 
in  enthusiasm  character  and  efficiency.  The 
country  was  so  healthy  that  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine was  limited  and  tmremunerative,  and  the 
doctor  who  carried  a  gun  and  whistle  for  a  dog 
often  had  much  of  his  time  and  attention  taken 
up  with  things  other  than  squirrels.  He  conversed 
with  intelligent  hunters,  and  listened  attentively 
to  all  they  had  to  say,  and  then  investigated  their 
statements  of  every  thing  in  turn,  from  the  habits 
and  life  of  the  black  ant,  that  relieves  the  beasts 
and  birds  from  annoying  ticks,  up  to  the  most 
perplexing  questions  in  natural  history.  His 
shelves  were  loaded  with  mineral  and  archaeolog- 
ical specimens ;  his  cases  glistened  with  the 

*Charles  Whittlesev.  1 1 


22  TIIK    Sgj'IRRKL    Hl'NTKKS. 

bright  plumage  of  rare  taxidermic  birds  ;  liis 
drawers  iilled  witli  oologieal  information  ;  and 
every  rare  plant,  tree  and  sbrub  accurately 
drawn  and  classified,  with  the  fruits  and  flowers 
indigenous  to  dill'erent  parts  of  the  state,  received 
attention  and  preservation. 

And  the  question  may  be  suggested.  Where  did 
all  this  wealth  of  thought  and  investigation, 
scattered  over  the  state,  go  to? 

The  answer  is  found  in  the  collections  of 
nearly  every  natut  al  history  society  in  the  Tnited 
States — in  the  geological  surveys  of  the  state, 
and  in  the  everlasting  records  made  by  Thomas 
Xuttall.  .John  .1.  Audubon  and  Alexander  Wilson. 
These  noted  authors  with  pens,  pencils  and 
brushes  were  in  the  new  world  collecting  facts- 
each  independent  of  the  oilier.  Nuttall.  to  make 
a  compendious  and  scientific-  treatise  on  ornithol- 
ogy, hoping  to  produce  it  at  a  price  so  reason- 
able as  to  permit  it  to  lind  a  place  in  the  hands 
of  general  readers.  Audubon  marked  out  his 

~ 

designs   on   a    much    larger  and    more   expensive 

r">  <*  i 

scale — to  give  the  exact  sixe,  coloring,  etc.,  of 
the  birds  and  botany  indigenous  to  the  country. 
This  required  double  elephantine  sheets,  three 
feet  three  inches  long,  by  two  feet  two  inches 
wide,  to  accommodate  figures  of  the  large  birds. 
Exactness  was  a  prominent  feature  in  making  this 
descriptive  history.  The  eye  was  never  trusted 
for  sixe  ;  every  portion  of  each  object — the  bill, 
the  feet,  the  legs,  the  claws,  the  very  feathers  as 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  123 

they  projected  beyond  each  other,  were  accurately 
measured.  These  full-size  drawings  were  en- 
graved and  artistically  colored  by  hand,  accord- 
ing to  the  pattern  drawings  and  colorings  made 
by  the  author's  pencil  and  brush.  Collecting 
and  formulating  the  material  for  the  four  hun- 
dred plates,  required  six  year's  labor  in  the  un- 
broken forests,  and  the  publication  handicraft 
twenty  more  in  a  foreign  country.  It  was  never- 
theless completed  and  will  forever  remain  as  pro- 
nounced, by  the  immortal  Cuvier,  "The  greatest 
monument  ever  erected  by  Art  to  Nature." 

Alexander  Wilson  also  contemplated  nature, 
as  nature  is,  and  communed  with  her  in  her 
sanctuaries.  In  the  forests,  mountains  and 
shores,  he  sought  knowledge  at  the  fountain 
head. 

The  observations  and  records  made  by  these 
collectors  are  the  corner  stones  of  natural  history 
of  the  United  States,  and  their  writings  and  il- 
lustrations will  be  consulted  when  other  books 
on  the  subject  have1  passed  to  oblivion.  Still 
it  can  not  be  claimed  that  all  valuable  ob- 
servations have  been  or  ever  will  be  registered  ; 
nor  that  collectors  did  not  obtain  much  of  their 
vast  stores  of  information  from  pioneer  residents, 
as  the  acknowledgment  of  this  fact  is  so  often 
met  with  in  their  works.  These  authors  compli- 
ment the  medical  profession,  who  in  turn  refer 
to  the  pioneers,  students  and  professors  in  natu- 
ral history — the  "Squirrel  Hunters." 


1'24  TIIK    SCJflKKKL    III  NTKKS. 

Dr.  Cones,  the  standard  authority  on  ornithol- 
ogy of  the  present  time,  was  told  incidentally  l>y 
a  reputable  woodsman,  that  the  "wild  goose"  often 
nested  in  trees  along  large  water-courses.  The 
Doctor  could  scarcely  believe  jt,  and  was  led  to 
investigate,  and  found  the  circumstance  to  he  a 
matter  of  common  information  among  the  resi- 
dents of  localities  where  the  bird  rears  its  young. 
Captain  Hindere,  of  the  army,  stationed  in  Ore- 
gon, states  that  one  year  it  was  dry  and  the 
geese  all  nested  on  the  ground  ;  and  the  next 
year  proved  wet  with  high  waters,  and  inanv 
nested  in  the  trees,  and  asks  if  this  is  instinct  or 
reason.  Other  birds  that  usually  nest  on  the 
ground,  for  some  reason  during  the  wet  season, 
occasionally  build  in  trees,  showing  an  architec- 
tural ability  entirely  different  from  nests  con- 
structed on  the  ground.  The  writer  has  known 
the  chewink,  or  ground-robin  to  build  live  feet 
from  the  ground  a  well-constructed  nest,  during 
wet  seasons  only. 

It  is  the  observing  man  who  resides  for  many 
years  among  beasts  and  birds  that  obtains  full 
knowledge  of  their  habits  under  various  circum- 
stances. Ft  is  the  patient  man  to  whom  nature 
reveals  her  secrets  ;  and  the  half-clad  hunter  is 
often  a  man  versed  in  these  hidden  things,  and 
can  even  tell  how  to  "feed  tadpoles  to  make  them 
all  females"  as  correctly  as  a  Professor  Drum- 
mond. 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  125 

Through  the  knowledge  of  such  men  have  come 
the  great  educators — the  natural  history  socie- 
ties and  associations  of  the  north-west.  Is  there 
one  of  these  institutions  of  civilization  that  owes 
not  its  origin  to  the  collections,  accomplishments, 
observations  and  will  of  the  Squirrel  Hunter? 
Not  one.  He  not  only  collected  scientific  matter, 
but  was  also  the  man  the  future  looked  upon  as 
the  one  to  open  up  farms,  build  school-houses, 
churches,  highways,  water-courses,  mills,  manu- 
factures— to  carry  on  commerce,  make  laws  and 
to  enforce  them.  He  kept  his  gun  clean,  his 
powder  dry  and  bullet  pouch  full,  ready  to  put 
down  rebellion  or  subdue  invasion,  or  perform 
any  other  duty  assigned  him. 

All  this  is  no  fancy  sketch  nor  pen-picture — 
history  written  and  unwritten  will  forever  stand 
with  his  honorable  mention.  In  the  war  of 
1812,  Ohio  sent  out  more  of  these  men  as  volun- 
teers than  she  had  voters  ;  and  in  addition  to 
this — when  it  was  known  General  Hull  had  dis- 
gracefully surrendered  the  fort  at  Detroit,  the 
Squirrel  Hunters  in  the  northern  counties  of  the 
state  did  not  await  an  invitation,  but  with  their 
own  guns,  ammunition,  blankets  and  rations 
marched  to  Cleveland,  and  made  General  Brock 
and  his  Indians  feel  satisfied  to  have  the  big 
pond  of  water  between  them  and  these  deter- 
mined men. 

The  following  year  (1813),  at  the  time  Fort 
Meigs  was  under  hot  fire  and  siege  by  General 


120  TIN-:  sijriKKKi.   IITNTKHS. 

Procter  and  his  mixed  army  of  Hritish  and  In- 
dians, the  besieging  general,  it  is  said,  was  in- 
formed "ten.  thousand  'squirrel  hunters,'  called 
llf<ir<ly  Buckcyrx,'  *  were  on  their  way  and  near 
at  hand  to  tell  his  army  to  get  out  of  the  coun- 
try without  delay!''  On  receipt  of  this,  ''not 
another  gun  was  iircd,"  and  the  general  with 
his  army  took  the  nearest  and  most  expeditious 
route  to  Canada. 

In  the  absence  of  the  love  of  gain  that  comes 
with  higher  civilization,  the  pioneers  were  in 
favorable  condition  to  receive1  literary  and  re- 
ligious instructions.  And  the  teachers  found  the 
people  always  as  ready  and  anxious  to  hear  the 
words  of  inspiration  and  eternal  life  as  are  those 
of  the  present  time  to  learn  the  last  quotations 
of  the  market. 

The  strictly  moral  and  religious  elements  sel- 
dom, if  ever,  took  part  in  such  amusements  rs 
''shooting-matches,"  '"horse-racing,"  ball-danc- 
ing, card-playing,  or  drinking  whisky.  And  for 
the  iirst  forty  years  of  the  Nineteenth  Century, 
the  social  condition,  in  regard  to  leading  vices, 
had  perhaps  less  evil  than  at  any  period  since. 

The  majority  of  resident  citixens  were  a  Sun- 
day-observing, church-going  people.  Although 
the  inhabitants  were  sparse,  the  congregations 
were  generally  very  large — whole  families  would 


"Ohio  Valley,"  by  Samuel  Williams,  p.  40. 


PROFESSIONS,     ETC.  127 

walk  six,  eight,  and  ten  miles  or  more  to  hear  a  Lo- 
renzo Dow,  Jacob  Young,  or  Bishop  McKenclree. 
Sectarian  influences  were  but  little  felt.  The" 
people  encouraged  all  denominations,  though  dif- 
fering in  confessions  of  faith  and  church  dis- 
cipline ;  each  had  in  view  the  making  mankind 
better  here,  and  happier  hereafter.  "And  for 
forms  of  faith,  let  graceless  zealots  fight,  holding 
that  his  'can't  be  wrong'  whose  life  is  right.' 

o  o 

And  with  a  people  who  had  many  reasons  to  be- 
lieve in  special  providences  it  was  but  consistent 
they  should  cultivate  a  submissive  sincerity  and 
desire  to  follow  the  paths  of  rectitude,  with 
faith  and  assurance— "to  such  all  ends  well." 

In  looking  back  upon  the  records  made  by 
Squirrel  Hunters  in  early  days  there  may  be  seen 
a  most  wonderful  faith  in  the  providences  of  prac- 
tical religion — that  religion  which  stays  with  the 
individual  throughout  his  daily  occupations  of 
life.  A  simple  instance  of  this  old-fashioned 
piety  is  sufficient  to  illustrate  its  meaning  and 
spirit  of  the  times,  taken  from  the  biography  of 
one  born  in  the  Quaker  Church,  written  by  him- 
self : 

"I  owned  two  hundred  acres  of  choice  land, 
heavily  timbered  and  well  watered  with  springs 
and  brooks.  Of  this,  only  five  acres  were  cleared 
for  cultivation.  My  family  consisted  of  wife  and 
two  small  children.  Of  domestic  animals,  I  had 
two  horses,  a  cow  and  a  dog.  One  evening,  in  the 
spring  of  1813,  the  cow  failed  to  come  home. 


TIIK     SOJ'IKKKL     IirNTKKS. 


Her  pasture  was  an  unfenced  wilderness.  The 
bell  could  not  be  heard,  and  search  beyond 
its  sounds  was  impractical  after  night.  Three 
days  were  ineffectually  spent  without  obtaining 
the  least  clue  to  her  location  ;  and  bodings  of  bad 
luck  seemed  standing  in  the  high  way  to  pros- 
perity." 


e_^Xl»   lit,         f-*..t?'       *•       -*T  i 


• 


Man  of  Special  Providences. 

"I  gave  the  cow  up  for  lost  and  resumed  the 
work  of  grubbing  and  burning  brush  to  .enlarge 
the  five  acres  a  little  In  the  afternoon,  while 
busily  engaged  with  my  thoughts  in  smoke 
and  brush,  my  wife  and  two  children  appeared 
on  the  ground.  She  came  to  tell  me  there  was 
a  man  at  the  house  with  a  sad  story.  He  had 
been  burned  out,  and  lost  everything,  and  wanted 


PROFESSIONS,     KTC.  129 

help  to  start  again.  I  tokl  her  we  were  too  poor 
to  help  any  body  ;  that  the  half  dollar  in  the 
house  was  all  the  money  we  had,  and  I  did  not 
think  it  best  to  part  with  the  last  cent  ;  that  he 
should  go  to  work  and  earn  something  and  not 
spend  his  time  begging  of  people  who  have  noth- 
ing. My  good  nature  had  got  around  on  the 
north  side." 

"As  my  wife  turned  toward  the  cabin,  she  ob- 
served, 'The  man  looks  much  distressed.'  And 
either  her  words,  spirit,  or  something  else,  brought 
before  my  eyes  in  large  capital  letters  the  creed 
or  motto  of  my  life,  'Do  right  and  all  will  come 
right.'  And  I  called  her,  saying,  'Give  the  un- 
fortunate man  the  half  dollar,  and  tell  him  we 
feel  for  him.'  The  begger  left  rejoicing.  And 
while  at  supper  the  sound  of  the  cow-bell  was  at 
the  door — the  lost  had  returned,  and  we  were  all 
happy  again." 

Pioneer  preaching  was  most  satisfactory  and 
successful,  and  piety  appeared  quite  as  lasting 
in  members  of  the  Methodist  Church  as  those  in 
churches  holding  "once  in  grace,  always  in 
grace."  It  was  remarkable,  as  stated,  that  in  a 
sparsely  settled  country  congregations  would 
assemble  in  numbers  so  great  no  house  could 
accommodate  more  than  a  small  fraction  of  the 
multitude.  And  out-door  preaching  became  a 
necessity;  and  camp-meetings  held  in  "God's 
first  temples"  were  inaugurated  in  the  very  com- 
mencement of  the  settlements,  and  a  meeting  of 


MO  TMK    SOJ'IKKKI.    IirXTKKS. 

the  kind  in  the  pleasant  season  of  the  year  would 
bring  together  the  inhabitants  from  a  large  area 
of  country.  And  under  the  supervision  of  such 
eminently  spiritual  divines  as  Bishop  Asburv, 
McKendree,  and  others,  it  was  not  strange  the 
old  lady  entertained  the  opinion  that  "dog- 
fennel  and  Methodism  were  bound  to  take  the 
country." 

Methodism  and  its  methods  were  better  adapted 
to  the  religious  wants  of  the  people  than  any  of 
the  many  sects  that  found  missionary  encourage- 
ment in  the  North-west,  and  it  was  well  said  by 
Warren  Miller,  of  New  York,  recently,  at  the 
Methodist  Social  Union,  held  in  Chicago  in 
honor  of  John  Wesley — "that  Methodism  has 
exercised  a  greater  influence  for  good  over  the 
institutions  of  our  government,  from  its  origin, 
and  over  the  lives  and  character  of  the  masses  of 
our  people  than  any  other  branch  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church,  can  not  be  questioned  by  any  one 
who  has  carefully  studied  the  inner  history  of 
our  government  and  of  our  people.'' 

Religious  and  educational  interests  were  not 
neglected,  and  where  the  population  was  too 
sparse  and  pool'  to  afford  a  week-day  school, 
children  were  taught  to  reml  and  write  ill  Sun- 
day-schools, which  were  open  in  summer  in  most 
every  neighborhood.  Church  buildings  wen4  few, 
but  preaching  and  religious  services  were  seldom 
overlooked,  and  in  warm  weather  were  held  in 
the  groves,  and  in  winter  in  private1  houses,  bar- 


PROFESSIONS,   ETC. 


131 


rooms,  country  taverns,  school-houses,  court- 
rooms, and  other  places  obtained  for  the  occa- 
sion. Protracted,  tented,  or  camp-meetings  in- 
creased, following  the  settlements,  and  becoming 
very  popular  with  preachers  and  people — usually 
lasting  over  a  week — attended  by  large  congrega- 
tions and  great  revivals. 

Stated  preaching  places  were  free  to  all  denom- 
inations. 

Of  the  numerous  log-cabins  used  for  this  pur- 
pose, only  a  few  have  been  preserved  as  familiar 
objects  in  the  history  of  early  settlements.  A 
house  that  served  as  a  family  residence,  hotel, 
church,  court-house,  and  school-house — an  humble 


Church,  Residence,  and  Court-house. 

log    cabin,   of    which    the    above    drawing    is    a 
faithful  likeness — is  still  standing. 

O 

Dwellings,  school-houses,  churches,  "meeting- 
houses,'' hotels,  and  court-houses,  resembled  each 
other  so  closely,  it  required  a  knowledge  of  the 
purpose  to  apply  the  correct  name.  And  quite 
frequently  cabins  were  dedicated  for  general  pur- 
poses, but  without  change  of  pattern. 


132  TIIK     S(.jriKKKI.    lit  NTKKS. 

The  Methodist  Western  Conference  comprised 
in  1802,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Virginia,  Tennessee, 
Mississippi,  and  missionary  fields  in  Indiana, 
Illinois  and  Michigan.  The  ministry  traveled  on 
horseback,  and  after  conference  each  member 
would  have  his  Held  of  labor  designated  on  a 
map  or  drawing.  On  arrival  at  point  of  duty 
the  minister  arranged  his  own  circuit  and  en- 
gaged his  own  preaching  places,  so  he  might 
travel  and  preach  each  day  in  the  week. 

Bishop  Aslmry  devoted  all  his  time  and  talents 
to  this  large  field  of  religious  instruction  ;  trav- 
eled and  preached,  and  was  so  devoted  to  the 
religious  or  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people  that 
lie  often  remarked  to  Mr.  Kendree  that  his  work 
was  so  arduous  that  lie  "never  had  time  to 
marrv  a  wife,  buy  a  farm  or  build  a  house." 
And  it  can  not  be  said  that  he  or  those  in  his 
charge  had  either  an  easy  or  lucrative  calling — 
the  bishop's  salary  being  sixteen  dollars  per  quar- 
ter, or  sixty-four  dollars  per  annum.  But  he 
lived  to  see  that  for  which  he  and  other  Christian 
denominations  labored — ten  years  of  the  most 
remarkable  revivals  of  religion  that  ever  oc- 
curred in  the  I'nited  States,  and  of  which  Ohio 
and  the  North-west  received  a  full  share  of  the 
good  and  lasting  results. 

In  the  period  from  1800  to  1810,  or  during  the 
height  of  the  great  religious  revival  that  swept 
over  the  western  and  southern  states,  there  ex- 
isted a  sinular  manifestation,  called  the  ••o1/.'*." 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC,  133 

It  appeared  to  follow  and  to  be  in  some  way  re- 
lated to  religious  excitement ;  to  be  no  respecter 
of  persons,  and  made  victims  of  all  classes 
and  conditions  of  society.  A  noted  divine  in 
his  autobiography  says:  "I  have  often  seen 
the  ladies  take  it  at  the  breakfast  table,  as  they 
were  pouring  out  tea  or  coffee.  They  would 
throw  the  whole  up  toward  the  ceiling,  and 
sometimes  break  both  cup  and  saucer.  They 
would  then  leave  the  table  in  great  haste,  their 
long  suits  of  braided  hair  hanging  down  their 
backs,  at  times  cracking  like  a  whip.  For  a 
time  it  was  the  topic  of  conversation,  public  and 
private,  both  in  and  out  of  the  church.  A^arious 
opinions  prevailed.  Some  said  it  was  the  work 
of  the  devil,  and  strove  against  it.  Sometimes 
it  almost  took  their  lives.''* 

The  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  ministers  were 
working  together  in  the  revival  very  harmoni- 
ously. But  in  due  time  it  became  whispered 
around  that  the  Methodists  were  making  more 
noise  than  necessary  ;  that  shouting  was  a  mat- 
ter under  the  control  of  the  will,  and  should  be 
moderated.  All  this  readied  the  ears  of  a  young 
minister,  who,  at  a  camp-meeting  in  1804,  and  be- 
fore an  audience  of  more  than  ten  thousand  peo- 
ple, concluded  it  a  fitting  moment  to  set  matters 
right  and  explain  or  give  the  philosophy  of  the 
"jfi'ks,''  and  that  of  shouting,  and  of  which  he 
says  : 

*"  Autobiography  of  a  Pioneer,"  by  Itev.  Jacob  Young. 


J34  THE    SQUIKKEL    Hl'NTKKS. 

"On  Monday  morning  I  preached.  I  was  pre- 
ceded bv  the  venerable  Van  Pelt,  who.  having 

•  o 

preached  a  short  and  pithy  sermon,  sat  down, 
with  the  congregation  bathed  in  tears.  There 
was  no  appearance  of  jerks.  I  took  the  stand 
like  most  of  men  who  know  but  little  and  fear 
nothing,  and  undertook  to  account  for  the 
jerks.  The  preachers  behind  me  looked  as  if 
they  were  alarmed,  the  audience  seemed  aston- 
ished at  the  young  man.  I  viewed  it  as  a  judg- 
ment on  that  wicked  community.  This  led  me  to 
take  a  compendious  view  of  nations,  to  show 
that  God's  providence  was  just,  as  well  as  merci- 
ful. Though  He  bore  long.  His  judgments  were 
sure  to  come.  ...  I  took  occasion  to  dwell 
on  the  rise  and  progress  of  Methodism  in  this 
country,  and  the  cruel  persecutions  its  professors 
had  met  from  their  neighbors.  I  quoted  their 
taunting  language  :  'How,  the  Methodists  are  a 
pack  of  hypocrites,  and  could  refrain  from  shout- 
ing if  they  would.'  I  made  a  pause,  then  ex- 
claimed, at  the  top  of  my  voice  :  il)»  i/on  leave  off 
jcrkiny  if  you.  can.''''  It  was  thought  more  than 
five  hundred  commenced  jumping,  shouting,  and 
jerking.  There  was  no  more  preaching  thai  day. 
One  good  old  mother  in  Israel  admonished  me, 
and  said  I  had  just  done  it  in  order  to  set  them 
to  jerking." 

The.  '-jerks"  have  never  been  satisfactorily  ac- 
counted for.  Some  persons  have  attributed  the 
manifestations  to  the  influence  of  witchcraft. 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  135 

But  this  superstition  failed  to  fasten  itself  upon 
Western  civilization  as  it  unfortunately  did  on 
the  Eastern  States ;  and  the  witches  imported 
into  the  North-west  were  so  few  and  insignificant 
in  character  that  none  of  the  tribe  ever  reached 
recognition  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  obtain  more 
than  a  mere  mention  in  the  statute  books  of 
Ohio.  They  made  but  little  public  history. 

In  1828,  there  was  a  court  case  in  Lawrence 
county,  involving  the  individuality  of  those 
operating  the  "black  art,"  growing  out  of  an  ac- 
tion to  recover  on  a  warranty  given  in  a  bill  of  sale 
of  a  horse.  The  horse  proved  unsatisfactory,  if  not 
unsound.  And  it  was  claimed  the  horse  was 
docile  and  all  right,  excepting  for  frequent  pe- 
riodical "spells,"  in  which  he  would  stop  in  the 
midst  of  routine  work,  and,  after  a  short  pause, 
would  rear,  kick,  plunge,  and  strike  out  right 
and  left,  uttering  unearthly  cries,  foaming  at  the 
mouth,  and  trembling,  showing  great  fatigue  and 
fear.  All  these  alarming  symptoms  would  pass 
off  in  a  short  time,  and  the  animal  would  again 
resume  its  normal  condition  and  in  all  respects 
a  docile  and  well  educated  beast. 

It  was  during  one  of  the  animal's  normal  periods 
that  the  defendant  sold  it  to  the  plaintiff,  making 
the  usual  warranty.  Soon  after,  while  the  ani- 
mal was  quietly  drawing  the  family  to  a  country 
church,  he  commenced  kicking  and  screaming, 
until  he  demolished  a  new  wagon  and  tore  down 
the  "worm  fences"  in  the  vicinity  of  the  trans- 


13f>  T1IK    SfjriKKKI,    111   NTKKS. 

action,  and  suit  was  brought  upon  the  warranty 
to  recover  the  money. 

The  witnesses  for  plaintiff  showed  conclusively 
that  there  was  something  wrong  with  the  horse  ; 
and  defendant  frankly  admitted  all  that  had 
been  testified  as  to  the  singular  "spells"'  or  way- 
wardness of  the  animal,  and  related  others  more 
startling,  but  declared  that  this  was  not  because 
of  any  unsoundness,  but  owing  to  the  horse  be- 
ing bewitched  from  time  to  time  by  a  gang  of 
witches  under  control  of  an  old  lady  who  lived 
in  seclusion  of  the  mountains  and  fastnesses  for 
which  Lawrence  county  is  noted. 

The  defendant  stated  to  the  court  that  this 
gang  were  in  the  habit  of  taking  possession  of 
horses  and  cattle,  and  sometimes  of  men  and 
women,  riding  and  worrying  them  almost  to 
death  in  the  night-time.  That  the  horse  he 
had  sold  (and  causing  this  suit)  was  one  of 
the  victims  of  this  witchery,  and  that  he  sold 
the  horse  to  his  neighbor  hoping  the  evil  spirit 
would  not  pursue  it  when  it  had  passed  into  other 
hands — adding,  "If  witches  could  be  driven  out 
of  the  neighborhood  1 1"'-  Imrxc,  imuld  he  all  r/V////, 
and  the  people  would  be  better  oil'."' 

Upon  mature  deliberation,  the  court  went  far 
enough  in  the  direction  of  the  views  of  the  de- 
fendant to  render  a  conditional  judgment,  to  wit, 
''that  the  defendant  should  either  repay  the 
plaintiff  the1  price  of  the  horse,  or  relieve  the  ani- 
mal of  the  witches."  Upon  receipt  of  this  op- 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  137 

tional  decree,  the  defendant  went  up  to  the  head 
waters  of  Little  Beaver,  in  Pike  county,  and  con- 
sulted a  noted  witch  doctor  who  resided  in  that 
neighborhood. 

After  obtaining  a  statement  of  the  case,  the 
doctor  concluded  it  was  necessary  to  visit  the  lo- 
cality and  make  a  careful  and  mysterious  study 
of  the  situation.  On  arrival  in  the  affected  dis- 
trict the  doctor  soon  discovered  that  the  old 
woman  on  the  hill  was  at  the  head  of  a  gang  of 
witches,  and  prescribed  an  old-time  remedy — that 
she  be  at  once  seized  and  burned  at  the  stake. 

It  is  reported  that  even  the  victims  of  the 
witches  thought  this  to  be  rather  heroic,  and  in- 
sisted that  some  milder  remedy  should  be  adopted. 
After  several  days  study  of  the  case,  the  doctor 
so  far  modified  the  prescription  as  to  substitute 
the  first  animal  that  fell  into  the  clutches  of  the 
witches  as  a  vicarious  offering  at  the  stake. 

"It  was  only  a  few  days  until  one  of  the  de- 
fendants' cows  was  taken  possession  of  by  a  bat- 
tallion  of  witches,  which  apparently  showed 
indications  of  complete  recovery.  Defendant 
lost  no  time,  but  called  his  neighbors  together  to 
assist  him  in  tying  the  cow  with  ropes  and  lead- 
ing her  into  a  neighboring  clearing,  where  there 
were  plenty  of  dry  logs  and  brush.'' 

"These    were     piled     around     and     over    the 
bellowing    animal    and    fired.       Then    began     a 
supernatural   battle.      The    cow    refused    to    be 
12 


T1IK     SQriKRKI,    HTNTKUS. 

burned  to  death  and  gave  vent  to  the  most  piteous 
and  unearthly  moans.  More  brush  and  logs 
were  piled  on  her,  and  blue  flames  leaped  high 
in  the  air,  assuming  grotesque  shapes  and  utter- 
ing guttural  laughing  sounds." 

"As  sunset  approached,  the  struggles  and 
moans  of  the  animal  began  to  subside  and  the 
flesh  and  bones  began  to  yield  to  the  consuming 
fangs  of  the  flame  ;  the  doctor  and  the  defendant 
in  the  law-suit,  stood  by  watching  for  the  denoue- 
ment with  absorbing  interest,  while  the  awe- 
stricken  neighbors  stood  farther  back  in  the 
gathering  folds  of  the  approaching  night." 

"Then1  was  a  lurid  outburst  of  flames,  de- 
moniac cries  and  gibbering  as  a  cloud  of  sparks 
rose  upward,  on  the  crest  of  which  were  a  score 
of  witches,  each  with  a  firebrand  in  its  hand. 
Up  and  up  they  rose,  then  sailed  awav  over  the 
hill  and  past  the1  hut  of  the  old  lady,  and  finally 
disappeared  from  sight." 

The  bewitched  horse  recovered  his  wonted 
docility,  and  the  purchaser  never  again  had  any 
complaint  to  make.  The  old  ladv  ceased  to 
commune  with  witches,  joined  the  church,  and 
when  she  passed  awav  was  mourned  bv  the  entire1 
community,  and  so  far  as  known,  the  witch 
doctor  never  had  another  case,  and  the1  cemrt 
records  officially  attest  that  there  once  were1 
witches  in  this  part  of  Ohio,  but  were  me>st  ef- 
fectually expelled  by  fire1  anel  the  doctor,  and 
fled  shrieking  across  the1  Ohio  IJiver,  into  Ken- 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  139 

tucky,  where  they  still  exist  among  white 
politicians  and  the  aged  colored  population,  who 
once  served  under  the  previous  condition.  All 
of  which  is  a  pointer  as  to  variety,  or  that  Ohio 
can  show  enough  merely  to  make  up  a  fair  as- 
sortment and  pattern  of  most  every  kind  of 
people,  with  room  for  improvement  by  further 
advances  in  civilization  that  will  end  the  least 
barbarous  act  in  the  attempt  to  diminish  crime  by 
the  horrors  of  electrocution,  the  rope,  or  the 
stake  and  fagots. 

But  the  "jerks,"  as  well  as  witchcraft,  soon 
gave  way  before  the  ministers  of  the  gospel,  who 
were  a  social  body  of  men,  welcomed  always  at 
pioneer  homes  :  although  many  stories  have  been 
circulated  in  regard  to  their  love  for  barn-yard 
poultry.  In  early  days  Avild  game  was  common, 
and  when  a  preacher  called,  something  extra  was 
sought  in  honor  of  the  guest,  and  generally  a 
chicken  was  sacrificed  for  the  occasion.  At  one 
time,  the  minister  who  said  "a  turkey  was  an 
unhandy  bird — rather  too  much  for  one,  and  not 
quite  enough  for  two,"  called  to  dine  with  a 
widow  woman  and  sister  in  the  church,  who  was 
noted  for  her  willingness  to  put  the  "best  foot 
foremost. ' '  After  a  short  time  the  clergyman  went 
out  to  look  after  his  horse,  and  heard  a  boy  crv- 
ing,  and  soon  located  him  back  of  the  corn-crib, 
with  a  chicken  under  his  arm.  "What  is  the 
matter,  sonny?"  said  the  divine  in  his  most 
soothing  manner.  The  boy  bawled  out  "Matter  ! 


140  T11K    SQCIRKKL    IH'NTKKS. 

between  the  hawks  and  circuit-riders,  this  is  the 
the  only  chicken  left  on  the  place." 

Early  in  the  nineteenth  century  a  citizen  and 
observing  author*  says:  "There  is  a  prejudice 
against  all  preachers  in  this  (Ohio)  and  all  other 
states  is  certainly  true  ;  but,  so  far  as  we  are 
acquainted  with  them,  and  we  know  them  well, 
we  are  compelled  to  say  that  our  clergymen  in 
Ohio,  especially  those  who  have  lived  here  ever 
since  our  first  settlement,  deserve  unqualified 
praise  for  their  zeal  and  good  works.  No  men  in 
tli is  state  have  been  .so  ttsefid  in  building  up  society, 
in  making  us  a  moral  and  truly  religious  people. 

"Their  disinterestedness  and  benevolence  ;  their 
kindness,  forbearance  and  charity,  zeal,  industry 
and  perseverance  in  well-doing,  merit  and  receive 
the  respect,  gratitude  and  affection  of  all  good 
men.  They  have  labored  zealously  and  faith- 
fully and  long,  and  their  pay  has  been  but 
trifling.  We  name  them  not,  though  we  know 
them  all.  They  have  always  been  the  true 
friends  of  liberty,  and  they  would  be  the  very 
last  men  in  the  nation  to  wish  to  overturn  our 
free  institutions." 

The  work  of  the  clergy,  though  differing  from 
that  of  the  doctor,  often  caused  them  to  meet  on 
common  ground,  and  they  were  alike  fast  friends 
of  humanity  and  of  each  other.  As  a  financial 
success  neither  could  boast  the  superior;  but  in 
the  good  works  in  which  they  were  engaged  the 

*Atwater,  "History  of  Ohio." 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  141 

minister  of  the  gospel  held  the  longer  and 
stronger  lever.  With  the  doctor  "death  ended 

o 

all;"  but  the  lessons  of  the  man  of  inspira- 
tion established  a  faith  in  a  higher  and  ever- 
lasting existence,  which  shed  its  influence  from 
the  departed  to  the  living,  and  placed  in  view 
another  and  higher  kingdom. 

For  many  years  the  learned  profession  of  law 
was  a  mere  form,  and  practically  remained  on 
the  statute  books.  Few  indeed  were  the  causes 
justifying  legal  investigation.  Parties  having 
grievances  preferred  to  settle  them  in  the  primi- 
tive way. 

A  single  recorded  instance  so  fully  represents 
the  infant  scales  of  justice  in  Ohio  that  we  quote 
the  proceedings  of  the  first  court  held  in  Greene 
county,  in  a  public  "tavern"  with  all  the  accom- 
modations for  man  and  beast. 

The  first  court-house  in  this  county  was  not  lo- 
cated within  the  area  of  the  present  city  of 
Xenia,  and  it  was  by  no  means  as  pretentious  as 
the  present  structure.  A  primitive  log  cabin 
with  a  single  room,  in  a  "clearing"  of  a  few 
acres,  some  five  miles  west  of  the  present  county 
seat,  a  little  off  the  road  which  leads  from  Xenia 
to  Dayton,  with  Owen  Da  vis's  mill  on  one  side 
and  a  block-house  on  the  other  side  of  the  stream, 
was  the  place  where  the  blind  goddess  first  set  up 
her  balances. 

The  building  was  constructed  by  General  Benj. 
Whiteman  more  than  a  century  ago,  and  shortly 


142  TIIK    StJt'IRRKL    IirXTKRS. 

after  boon  mo  the  ])roporty  of  Peter  Borders,  and 
was  selected  by  the  "court"'  as  the.  seat  of  justice 
in  1S03,  when  the  iirst  session  was  held  to  com- 
plete the  county  organization.  The  first  term  of 
court  was  synonymous  with  a  meeting  of  the 
county  commissioners  of  the  present  day.  The 
presiding,  or  law,  judge,  Hon.  Francis  Dunlavy, 
was  not  present,  and  the  associate  judges,  Will- 
iam Maxwell,  Benjamin  Whitman  and  James 
Barrett,  with  John  Paul,  clerk,  met  at  the  Bor- 
ders cabin  on  the  l()th  of  May,  1803,  and  duly 
dedicated  it.  The  session  lasted  but  a  single  day, 
and  the  business  dispatched  was  the  organization 
of  the  townships.  This  done,  the  court  adjourned 
until  the  next  regular  session,  which  convened 
some  two  months  later. 

This  was  a  more  imposing  court  and  was  con- 
vened for  trying  such  causes,  civil  and  criminal, 
as  might  come  up  for  consideration.  The  court 
opened  with  a  perfect,  clean  docket,  and  for  a 
short  time  it  looked  as  though  there  would  be 
nothing  to  do.  Judge  Francis  Dunlavy,  then 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  citizens  of  the  new 
state,  and  who  had  served  in  the  territorial  legis- 
lature, from  Hamilton  county,  presided,  with 
associate  justices  Maxwell,  Whitoman  and  Bar- 
rett on  the  bench,  and  Daniel  Symmes,  of  Hamil- 
ton, performing  the  duties  of  prosecuting  attorney. 
The  grand  jury  was  composed  of  William  J. 
Stewart,  foreman,  John  AVilson,  Win.  Buckles, 
Abram  Van  Eaton,  James  Snodgrass,  John  Judy, 


PROFESSIONS,   ETC.  143 

Evan  Morgan,  Robert  Marshall,  Alex.  C.  Arm- 
strong, Joseph  Wilson,  Joseph  C.  Vance,  John 
Buckingham,  Martin  Mindenhall  and  Henry 
Martin,  who  were  duly  sworn  and  impaneled. 

Chief  Justice  Dunlavy  (as  recorded)  delivered 
a  forcible  charge  to  the  grand  jury,  directing  it 
to  diligently  inquire  into  and  make  a  true  pre- 
sentment of  all  infractions  of  the  law  within  its 
bailiwick.  Duly  impressed  with  the  solemnity 
of  the  charge  to  which  they  had  listened,  the 
jury  retired  a  few  yards  distant  from  the  cabin, 
where  they  began  the  first  grand  inquest,  but 
the  most  diligent  inquiry  failed  to  discover  a 
single  case  requiring  their  attention  and  action. 

The  court,  as  it  seems,  would  have  proved  an 
absolute  and  inglorious  failure  had  not  Owen 
Davis,  the  miller,  come  to  its  rescue.  People  far 
away  as  the  Dutch  settlement  in  Miami,  had 
taken  advantage  of  court  day  to  come  to  the  mill 
with  their  grists.  Among  the  number  from  a 
distance  was  a  Mr.  Smith  from  Warren  county. 
Mr.  Smith  had  the  reputation  of  helping  himself 
to  pork  wherever  he  could  find  wild  hogs  in  the 
woods,  and  Mr.  Davis,  after  having  turned  out 
the  grist  for  his  Warren  county  friend,  concluded  to 
administer  a  little  "pioneer  law"  on  his  own  ac- 
count, while  the  court  was  proceeding  in  a  more 
conventional  manner.  Accordingly  he  gave  the 
unfortunate  Smith  a  good  drubbing,  and  as  he 
was  an  expert  Indian  fighter,  the  job,  no  doubt, 
was  well  done.  Having  finished  it.  lie  burst 


144  THK    SQUIRRKL    Hl'XTKRS. 

into  the  primitive  courtroom  where  the  judges 
sat  around  the  deal  table  in  solemn  state  and 
awful  dignity,  with  the  exclamation — 

"Well,  I'll  be  blanked  if  I  have  n't  done  it  !" 
''Done  what,  sir?"  inquired   associate  justice 
Whiteman. 

"I've  whipped  that  blanked  hog  thief  from 
down  the  countrv.  Ben,  and  I've  made  a  good 

«/     '  O 

job  of  it.  What's  the  damage,  anyhow?  What's 
to  pay?" 

Whereupon  he  pulled  out  his  purse  and  counted 
down  a  handful  of  silver  coins,  while  the  court 
looked  on  with  horrified  surprise,  but  said  noth- 
ing. 

"Oh,  it's  a  fact,"  he  went  on,  "I've  whipped 
him,  Ben,  and  blank  you  if  you'd  steal  a  hog, 
I'd  whip  you,  too  !" 

This  was  altogether  too  much  for  the  court, 
and  the  sheriff  was  ordered  to  go  out  and  get  the 
witnesses  to  the  affray  and  take  them  before  the 
grand  jury.  The  miller's  pugilistic  performance, 
however,  had  proved  contagious,  and  when  tho 
sheriff  got  outside,  he  found  a  free  light  going  on 
in  all  directions,  and  the  grand  jurors  watching 
it  through  the  openings  in  the  little  out-house. 

F very  body  who  had  a  grievance  was  settling, 
or  trying  to  settle  it  in  the  regular  way,  in  back- 
woods fashion,  and  the  grand  jury  and  prosecu- 
tor Symmes  at  once  had  their  hands  more  than 
full  of  business.  A  score  or  more  of  witnesses 
were  examined  and  by  the  middle  of  the  after- 


PROFESSIONS,   ETC.  145 

noon,  nine  indictments  for  affray  and  assault  and 
battery  were  presented  in  court,  and  the  offend- 
ers, including  the  owner  of  the  court-house,  were 
arraigned.  All  plead  guilty,  beginning  with  Dayis, 
the  first  offender,  who  Avas  assessed  a  fine  eight 
dollars,  and  the  rest  four  dollars  each.  All  paid 
their  fines  upon  the  nail,  so  that  the  court,  owing 
to  the  fortunate  yisit  of  the  Warren  county  man, 
found  itself  in  funds  to  the  amount  of  forty  dol- 
lars before  early  candle  lighting. 

The  rest  of  the  business  of  the  court,  includ- 
ing a  license  to  Peter  Borders,  to  conduct  a 
"tavern"  in  the  court-house,  with  all  the  word 
implied,  for  which  he  was  taxed  eight  dollars, 
was  finished  before  bed  time,  and  the  court  was 
ready  to  adjourn  at  an  early  hour  next  morning. 

Daniel  Symmes,  the  prosecuting  attorney,  had 
come  from  Cincinnati,  making  the  fifty  miles' 
journey  on  horseback  along  the  Indian  trails,  and 
the  court  awarded  twenty  dollars  out  of  the  pro- 
ceeds of  the  fines  as  compensation.  But  when  it 
reassembled  in  December  following,  it  decided 
that  the  payment  had  been  illegally  made,  and 
Mr.  Symmes  was  required  to  refund  it.  This 
so  discouraged  the  prosecuting  attorney,  he  de- 
cided that  thereafter  he  would  not  appear  in  that 
court  as  prosecutor.  He  was  partially  remune- 
rated, however,  when,  a  few  years  later,  he  was 
promoted  to  the  supreme  bench. 

The  first  session  of  the  Supreme  Court  was 
13 


140  THIO    SQflRKKL    HTNTKRS. 

hold  in  this  old  log-cabin,  on  the  25th  of  ()ctol)or, 
1803,  the  judges  present  being  Samuel  Hunting- 
ton  and  "William  Sprigg.  The  third  judge,  Jon- 
athan Meigs,  was  unable  to  l)e  present,  but  Ar- 
thur St.  Clair,  of  Hamilton  county,  attended  the 
sitting  in  all  the  glory  of  a  cocked  hat  and  other 
military  paraphernalia.  The  only  business  trans- 
acted by  the  court  was  to  admit  Kichard  Thomas 
to  the  practice  of  law. 

The  descendants  of  pioneers  cling  with  tenacity 
to  the  memories  of  olden  times,  and  are  proud 
of  the  historic  struggles  made  by  their  ancestors 
to  establish  schools,  churches,  and  good  govern- 
ment in  a  wilderness  known  only  to  savage  life 
for  untold  ages.  Although  there  was  little  cause 
for  litigation,  it  was  necessarv  to  hold  the  courts 
of  justice  open,  as  it  was  to  encourage  schools 
and  churches  that  directed  society  in  the  enlight- 
ened paths  of  virtue  and  higher  plane  of  civili/a- 
tion. 

Workers  in  religious  denominations  met  with 
more  or  less  encouragement,  and  mapped  out 
their  fields  upon  a  largo  scale  for  future  opera- 
tions. ^Vnd  fathers  and  mothers,  doctors,  min- 
isters, and  lawyers  worked  harmoniously  together 
to  instruct,  educate,  and  elevate  coming  genera- 
tions, and  many  lived  to  witness  the  fruits  of 
those  exertions  with  pride  and  satisfaction. 

Colonel  Charles  "Whittlosoy,  in  an  address  be- 
fore the  "Northern  Ohio  Historical  Society,"  No- 
vember, 1881,  says:  ''If  our  representative  men 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  147 

are  prominent,  it  may  be  a  source  of  honorable 
state  pride,  for,  while  great  men  do  not  make 
a  great  people,  they  are  signs  of  a  solid  constitu- 
ency. Native  genius  is  about  equally  distributed 
in  all  nations,  even  in  barbarous  ones  ;  but  it 
goes  to  waste  wherever  the  surroundings  are  not 
propitious. 

"Cromwell  was  endowed  with  a  mental  ca- 
pacity equal  to  the  greatest  of  men ;  but  he 
would  not  have  appeared  in  history  if  there  had 
not  been  a  constituency  of  Round-heads,  full  of 
strength,  determined  upon  the  overthrow  of  a 
licentious  king  and  his  nobility. 

"Washington  would  not  have  been  known  in 
history  if  the  people  of  the  American  Colonies 
had  not  been  stalwarts  in  every  sense,  who  se- 
lected him  as  their  representative.  In  these 
colonies  the  process  of  cross-breeding  among  races 
had  then  been  carried  further  than  in  England, 
and  is  now  a  prime  factor  in  the  strength  of  the 
United  States. 

"[  propose  to  apply  the  same  rule  to  the  first 
settlers  of  Ohio,  and  to  show  that  if  she  now 
holds  a  high  place  in  the  nation,  it  is  not  an  acci- 
dent, but  can  be  traced  to  manifest  natural  causes, 
and  those  not  alone  climate,  soil,  and  geograph- 
ical position." 

No  doubt,  the  admixture  of  races  has  in  some 
cases  added  something  favorable  to  the  physical 
and  mental  powers  of  manhood  ;  but,  perhaps, 
in  regard  to  the  superiority  of  the  men  of  the 


148 


TIIK    SOJ'IRRKI.    IITNTKUS. 


North-west,  more  must  be  attributed  to  the 
natural  conditions  and  surroundings  which  se- 
cured freedom  from  all  corroding  influences  of 
avarice,  added  to  the  alert  outdoor  life  among 
Indians  and  savage  beasts,  with  the  rifle  and 
attendant  athletic  exercises,  that  gave  mental 
stimulation  without  subsequent  exhaustion  of 
mind  or  body.  The  rising  Squirrel  Hunter  is  no 
drone  ;  he  represents  a  bundle  of  activities  that 
scorns  a  leisure  that  breeds  an  indolent  stupidity. 


First  School-house  in  Circlevillc,  Ohio.  Cost  $10,000  in  1S51. 
In  !<S7i>  was  remodeled  by  thu  School  Board  at  a  cost  of 
$)9,300. 

The  facilities  f;>r  the  physical  culture  were 
greatly  in  advance  of  those  for  the  development 
of  the  mental  ;  and  it  is  remarkable  what  the 
key  to  education  has  in  its  turn  accomplished  — 
the  Bible,  "Buckley's  Apology"  and  ''Pilgrim's 


Progress." 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  149 

Most  of  the  present  educational  influences  were 
unknown  to  the  generation  that  lias  given  to  the 
United  States  so  many  great  men.  In  their 
youthful  days  libraries  were  exceedingly  few,  and 
books  were  expensive  and  not  easily  obtained  ; 
and  little  reason  had  any  one  to  anticipate  that 
the  boys  living  in  the  backwoods  of  Ohio,  shoot- 
ing squirrels  and  hoeing  corn,  spring  and  sum- 
mer ;  catching  rabbits,  foxes  and  coons  in  the 
fall  and  winter,  and  occasionally  attending  a 
"subscription  school1'  in  some  abandoned  log 
cabin  two  or  three  months,  would  ever  become 
stars  of  the  first  magnitude  in  the  literary  canopy 
of  the  United  States. 

From  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific — in  every  city, 
in  every  town — boys  of  the  rural  districts  of 
Ohio  have  marched  to  the  front.  Even  in  the 
National  Metropolis  it  need  not  be  asked : 
''Whence  came  Murat  Halstead,  Whitelaw  Reid, 
John  A.  Cockerill,  Charles  J.  Chambers,  William 
H.  Smith,  Bernard  Peters,  William  L.  Brown, 
and  others.  The  New  York  Tribune,  Herald, 
World,  Associated  Press,  Times  and  Daily  News, 
and  the  evidences  of  success  resulting  from  abil- 
ity, integrity  and  business  capacity,  give  the  an- 
swer, "0/iio."* 

*NOTE — 1895. — "  Out  of  eight  new  Republican  United  States 
Senators  just  sworn   in,  four  were  born  in  Ohio.     There  are 
now  eleven  Ohio-born   Senators.     Ohio  dees  a  good  business 
in  'raising  men,'  to  say  nothing  about  the  good   women. "- 
Chicago  Jitter- Ocean. 

"  True.     It  might  be  added  that  the  managing  editor  and 


150  THK    SQUIRREL    HfXTKRS. 

Wliatovor  the  cause  may  now  bo  attributable 
to,  there  can  be  no  question  of  the  inherited  ca- 
pacity and  natural  and  acquired  ability  which 
lias  enabled  the  "Squirrel  I/tutter*"  of  Ohio  to 
giye  to  the  nation  greater  and  more  useful  men 
during  the  present  century  than  all  the  other 
states  combined. 

In  every  channel  of  advancing  civilization  the 
Ohio  man  is  found  over  the  entire  world,  and  is 
known  by  the  stamp  he  bears — ''none  other 
genuine1' — "(). !.()/'  It  may  be  excusable  to 
name  a  few  of  the  many  national  characters 
which  an  Ohio  man  is  ever  proud  to  recall  with 
an  admiration  unknowa  to  egotism — of  such — 
Thomas  Ewing,  Rufus  P.  Ranney,  George  II, 
Pendleton,  Joseph  Medell,  Richard  Smith,  J)onn 
Piatt,  Ed.  Cowles,  Samuel  Medary,  W.  McLean, 
E.  D.  Mansfield,  James  G.  Birney,  Swayne, 
Springer,  Scoville,  Chase,  Simpson,  McTlvaine, 
Thomas  Cole,  Hiram  Powers,  Wm.  H.  Beard, 
Quincy  Ward  ;  the  groat  inventor,  Edison  ;  the 
arctic  explorer,  Dr.  Hall  ;  the  Siberian  traveler, 
George  Kennon  ;  the  astronomer,  Mitchell  ;  ge- 
ologists, Hildreth,  Newborry,  and  Orton  ;  humor- 
ists, Artemus  Ward  and  Petroleum  V.  Nasby  ;  as 
popular  writer,  A.  W.  Tourgee  and  William  Dean 
Ilowells.  The  latter  found  "*SVy////-/v/.s"  in  the 
spring,  where  they  resorted  for  "the  sweetness  in 

chief  political  writer  of  the  Inter-Ocean  are  Ohio  men.  And, 
according  to  Mr.  Dana  and  Mr.  McOullagh.  in  be  an  editor  is 
'greater  than  a  king.' '' — E.rclmmji . 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  151 

the  cups  of  the  tulip-tree  blossoms  ;"  and  in  boy- 
hood made  "impressions"  with  his  bare  feet  in 
the  snow  on  the  cabin  floor,  and  in  after  life  more 
lasting  ones  with  his  pen  on  the  hearts  of  those 
who  have  been  favored  with  his  literary  produc- 
tions. 

Why  was  it  said  on  the  4th  of  March,  1881, 
the  nation  was  enabled  to  see  "  three  men  of  fine 
presence  advanced  on  the  platform  at  the  east 
portico  of  the  Federal  Capitol?  On  the  right,  a 
solid,  square-built  man,  of  impressive  appearance, 
the  Chief-Justice  of  the  United  States  (Morrison 
R.  Waite) .  On  his  left  stood  a  tall,  well-rounded, 
large,  self-possessed  personage,  with  a  head  large 
even  in  proportion  to  the  body,  who  is  President 
of  the  United  States  (James  A.  GarfiolcO .  At 
his  left  hand  was  an  equally  tall,  robust,  and 
graceful  gentleman,  the  retiring  President  (R.  B. 
Hayes) .  Near  by  was  a  tall,  not  especially 
graceful  figure,  with  the  eye  of  an  eagle,  who  is 
the  general  commanding  the  army  (Wm.  Tecum- 
seh  Sherman).  A  short,  square,  active  officer, 
the  Marshal  Ney  of  America,  Lieutenant-General 
(Phil.  Sheridan).  Another  tall,  slender,  well- 
poised  man,  of  not  ungraceful  presence,  was  the 
focus  of  many  thousand  eyes.  He  had  carried 
the  finances  of  the  nation  in  his  mind  and  in  his 
heart,  four  years  as  the  Secretary  of  the  Treas- 
ury, the  peer  of  Hamilton  and  Chase  (John  Slier- 
man)  .  Of  these  six  five  were  natives  of  Ohio, 
and  the  other  a  life-long  resident.  Did  this  group 


1;">2  Till':    S<jriKKKI,    IHNTKKS. 

of  national  characters  from  our  slate  stand  there 
by  accident?  Was  it  not  the  result  of  a  long  train 
of  agencies,  which,  by  force  of  natural  selection, 
brought  them  to  the  front  on  that  occasion?"  * 

While  this  painting  from  life  will  ever  stand 
as  a  most  worthy  compliment  to  Ohio,  it  must  be 
looked  upon  as  but  a  detached  part  of  the  great 
picture  of  the  North-west,  in  the  center  of  which 
may  be  seen  the  full  measure  of  a  wise  man 
crowned  with  six  stars  untarnished  with  slavery — 
Nathan  Dane,  of  Massachusetts,  17S7. 

The  Ohio  State  .Journal  savs  of  the  4th  of 
March,  1H(.)7,  that,  "This  is  a  great  time  for  Ohio 
at  the  National  Capital.  The  Buckeye  State  is 
very  much  in  evidence1.  The  President  is  from 
Ohio;  the  Secretary  of  State  is  from  Ohio;  Mark 
Ilanna  is  an  Ohio  man  ;  Secretary  Alger  was  born 
and  bred  in  Ohio;  .  .  .  Senator  Foraker, 
who  is  expected  to  be  one  of  the  leaders  in  the 
senate,  is  an  Ohio  man  ;  the  First  Assistant  Sec- 
retary of  State  ...  is  an  Ohio  man.  In 
short,  Ohio  politicians  will  be  in  the  saddle  as  far 
as  national  aHairs  go,  and,  compared  with  them, 
the  Republicans  of  the  other  states  are  small  po- 
tatoes, so  to  speak. 

"Ohio  lias  for  the  last  quarter  of  a  century  been 
a  great  state  for  presidents.  But  it  never  occu- 
pied a  more  conspicuous  position  in  the  sisterhood 


*  Howe's  Hist.  Coll. 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  153 

of  states  than  to-day.  The  Ohio  man  comes  very 
near  being  the  whole  thing." 

Ohio  has  made  her  mark  politically  high,  and 
still  manifests  a  modest  willingness  to  furnish  the 
nation  with  presidents  and  other  high  officials, 
although  the  New  York  World  thinks  the  kissing 
of  the  words  of  Holy  Writ  by  the  last  favorite 
son  assumed  a  rather  extravagant  and  monarch- 
ical appearance  ;  that  it  cost  only  five  thousand 
dollars  to  seat  Thomas  Jefferson,  while  the  cere- 
monial bill  for  William  McKinley  and  the  tenth 
verse  of  the  first  chapter  of  the  Second  Chronicles 
footed  two  million  five  hundred  and  fifty-five 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars  ;  and  bannered  the 
fifteenth  verse  of  the  same  chapter,  for  the  time 
being  at  least.  For  with  that  "wisdom  and  knowl- 
edge,"— "the  king  made  silver  and  gold  at  Jeru- 
salem (Washington)  as  plenteous  as  stones." 

And  in  this  line,  not  of  boasting,  but  of  great- 
ness, it  is  not  thought  strange,  after  supply- 
ing the  nation  with  a  large  ratio  of  leading 
statesmen,  artisans,  scientists  and  men  of  letters, 
the  state  should  have  had  in  readiness  for  the  oc- 
casion— one  general,  U.  S.  Grant ;  one  lieuten- 
ant-general, Mr.  Tecumseh  Sherman ;  twenty 
major  and  thirty-six  brigadier  generals ;  with 
twenty  seven  brevet  major-generals  and  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  brigadier  generals  ;  a  secretary  of 
war,  Edwin  M.  Stanton  ;  a  secretary  of  the  treas- 
ury, S.  P.  Chase  ;  a  banker,  J.  Cooke,  with  a 
contribution  of  three  hundred  and  forty  thous- 


l.r>4  T1IK    SQl'IRRKL    HCNTKKS. 

and  armed  men  and  twenty-six  independent  bat- 
teries of  artillery,  and  live  independent  companies 
of  cavalry. 

Ohio  had  the  men — had  the  will — and  when 
the  call  came,  went  into  the  war  to  fight,  and  of 
which  she  did  her  share,  as  the  eleven  thousand 
two  hundred  and  ten  killed  and  mortally  wounded 
on  the  battle-fields,  attest. 

The  finances  were  so  ably  managed  by  the 
secretary  and  his  advisor,  Jay  Cooke,  that  a 
rebel  leader  declared  the  treasury,  and  not  the 
war  department,  had  conquered  the  South.  To 
take  an  empty  and  bankrupt  treasury  and  agree 
to  find,  equip  and  pay  the  immense  federal  army 
was  the  portion  assigned  to  secretary  Chase. 
And  when  Mr.  Cooke  asked  the  amount  required 
daily  to  meet  demands — the  reply  was  ''two 
millions,  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Can 
you  raise  the  money?"  ''I  can,"  was  the 
reply. 

Mr.  Cooke  organized  a  plan  for  popularizing 
the  loan,  and  soon  had  receipts  coming  into  the 
treasury,  averaging  over  four  millions  per  day. 
It  must  be  admitted  that  brains,  as  well  as  bul- 
lets, gave  strength  and  success  to  the  federal 
forces,  and  it  can  be  truthfully  as  well  as  modestly 
assumed,  that  Ohio  furnished  her  share  of  both, 
with  honest  scripture  measure. 

Ohio  people  are  not  given  much  to  foolish 
pride,  although  considered  sensitive  ;  and  those 
familiar  with  the  resources,  industries,  wealth 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  155 

and  learning,  were  surprised  that  the  glorious 
first-born  of  the  family  of  the  "North-west  Ter- 
ritory," should  come  so  far  short  of  expec- 
tations at  the  World's  Columbian  Centennial 
Exposition,  at  Chicago.  The  state  was  all  right, 
however,  and  deeply  interested.  But  political 
favoritism  and  incompetency  often  supplants  meri- 
torious ability,  and  determines  adversely  what 
otherwise  would  claim  admiration  and  give  gen- 
eral satisfaction. 

Ex-Governor  Campbell,  in  an  address  recently, 
would  mislead  a  stranger, when  he  says,  "The  State 
of  Ohio  was  at  Atlanta  in  18G4,  under  Sherman, 
but  is  not  now  at  Atlanta  as  part  of  the  great  ex- 
hibit of  industrial  products  held  there,  because, 
under,  and  by  virtue  of  the  last  general  assembly, 
the  state  credit  was  reduced  so  low,  and  its  coffers 
so  depleted,  that  not  money  enough  could  be  found 
for  this  purpose.  The  only  official  representation 
from  our  state  at  Atlanta,  in  the  year  1895,  is  on 
the  part  of  a  few  lady  commissioners,  who  have 
the  freemen's  privilege  of  paying  their  own  ex- 
penses." 

Does  anyone  believe  Ohio  is  poverty  stricken? 
Has  anyone  known  the  state  or  people  to  be  so 
since  the  squirrel  hunters  traded  coon-skins  for 
books,  that  it  could  not  turn  Lake  Erie  into  the 
Ohio  River — the  army  of  the  "Southern  Confeder- 
acy" face  about — or  make  a  first-class  exhibit 
in  any  competitive  exposition?  Asa  statement,  it 
is  true,  "Ohio  is  not  at  Atlanta."  But  the  ab- 


!")(')  TIIK    S<jriKKKI,    1HNTKKS. 

sence  is  not  clue  to  the  causes  assigned,  and  the 
wonder  is,  she  is  as  rich  and  powerful  as  she  is, 
after  being  forced  so  frequently  to  play  the  part 
of  the  individual  that  journeyed  from  .Jerusalem 
down  to  .Jericho. 

Ohio  is  an  agricultural  state,  populated  with 
those  who  hold  the  handles  of  the  plough  and 
fear  not  poverty,  discontent  and  strikes.  The 
native  inhabitants  inherited  a  love  of  liberty  and 
independence  from  an  ancestry  who  came  to  a 
wilderness  to  secure  //omr.s  for  themselves  and 
posterity.  And  it  was  in  these  home*  a  permanent 
foundation  for  a  superior  civilization  was  laid  ; 
and  through  the  providences  of  a  people  with 
Iionit'x  and  families,  supported  by  natural  and 
cultivated  resources,  that  has  transformed  un- 
broken forests  into  fertile  fields  and  developed  an 
intelligent,  happy  and  prosperous  people. 

It  is  an  old  and  well-founded  belief  that  the 
earth  was  not  made  in  vain,  but  is  capable  of 
fulfilling  all  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  cre- 
ated— now  as  at  any  other  period  in  its  history. 
It  is  also  worthy  of  thought  that  the  interest  in 
the  well-being  of  man  bv  creative  and  governing 
intelligence  is  not  less  than  that  extended  to  the 
beasts  of  the  iields,  and  that  his  title  to  a  share; 
of  subsistence  on  the  earth  is  quite  as  good  as 
that  of  the  cattle  that  graxe  upon  a  thousand 
hills. 

Every  one  can,  and  every  one  should,  secure  a 
share  in  this  inheritance  while  living.  His  heir- 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  157 

ship  is  indisputable,  and  on  which  no  mortgage 
ever  found  a  right,  room  or  reason  to  rest.  If 
every  cast-off  from  the  seductive  trusts,  com- 
bines and  monopolies — every  one  of  the  millions 
begging  bread — had  a  definite  home  upon  the  soil 
of  the  earth,  there  would  be  room  for  millions 
more,  and  bread  riots  and  starvation  would  be 
unknown  in  all  the  land. 

Natural  civilization — that  made  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  nature — does  not  consist  in  ag- 
gregating the  products  of  labor  into  the  hands  of 
a  few  and  distributing  poverty  broadcast  to  the 
many,  but  in  cultivating  intelligence,  securing 
homes,  families,  subsistence,  comfort  and  happi- 
ness, by  every  man  owning  and  controlling  the 
products  of  his  own  labor. 

During  the  first  half  century  of  the  settlement 
in  the  Buckeye  State,  the  equality  and  advance- 
ment of  true  civilization  of  the  people  have  never 
been  surpassed  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Al- 
though their  land  estates  were  small,  and  with 
that  prohibition  nature  had  thrown  around  the 
state  against  all  foreign  imports,  it  might  readily 
be  imagined  the  living  and  populating  a  great 
empire  on  its  own  developed  resources  would 
naturally  entail  much  want  and  distress.  But 
such  was  not  the  fact.  They  all  had  enough  and 
to  spare,  and  vagrants  were  as  unknown  to  pub- 
lic provision  as  were  paupers  or  want  among  the 
sparrows,  or  the  innumerable  millions  of  buffalo 
that  were  provided  for  on  the  western  plains. 


l.")S  TMK    S(^l   IKKKI      III   NTKKS. 

Those  who  had  homes  they  could  call  their 
own,  with  families  and  friends,  plentv  to  sup- 
ply the  necessities  of  life,  were  singularly  ex- 
empt from  avarice,  or  that  which  since  the  world 
bewail  has  been  denounced  ''the  root  of  all  evil." 

The  lirst  organized  money  power  of  serious  im- 
port, endangering  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment, was  the  inonopolv  termed  ''The  Bank  of 
the  I'nited  States,"  incorporated  bv  act  of  Con- 
gress in  1SK),  for  the  term  of  twenty  years.  And 
with  its  millions  of  easily  earned  profits,  it  soon 
controlled  legislation  in  the  interests  of  wealth 
and  the  corporation,  causing  suffering  and  disas- 
ter to  the  business  of  the  nation  by  making 
prices  unstable  through  contractions  and  expan- 
sions of  the  mediums  of  exchange,  so  that  the 
State  of  Ohio  raised  objections  to  the  contem- 
plated establishment  of  branches  of  the  inonop- 
olv within  her  borders. 

After  much  political  discussion  of  the  matter. 
a  legislature  was  elected  largely  opposed  to  the 
money  power,  and  the  state  in  ISIS  passed  an  act 
in  the  nature  of  a  high  protective  tarifl'.  "taxing 
each  branch  of  the  I'nited  States  Bank  located 
in  the  State  of  Ohio  fifty  thousand  dollars." 
The  bank  refused  to  pay  the  assessments  when 
due  under  the  act,  and,  like  most  monopolies  in 
sight  of  a  supreme  court .  disregarded  the  act  of 
legislation  and  defied  the  authorities. 

The  law-makers  in  Ohio,  even  in  that  early 
dav,  had  seen  enough  to  understand  the  defiant 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC  159 

insubordination  of  wealth,  and  in  the  act  for  col- 
lecting the  tax  from  the  branch  banks  due  the 
state,  authorized  the  collector  to  employ  an  armed 
force,  if  necessary,  and  to  enter  the  bank  and 
seize  money  sufficient  to  cover  the  claim  and  costs 
of  collection. 

This  was  done  by  the  collector  for  the  "Chilli- 
cothe  branch/'  and  the  state  became  defendant, 
returning  with  interest  the  money  taken  at  the 
end  of  the  usual  course  of  litigation,  by  an  order 
of  the  supreme  court.  It  has  often  been  related 
by  those  who  took  part  in  the  great  struggle  for 
supremacy  of  lau',  or  will  of  the  majority  of  a  pro- 
ducing population,  as  against  the  tyrannical 
usurpations  of  a  money  power,  with  its  revolv- 
ing satellites,  that  the  contest  threatened  the 
peace,  prosperity  and  safety  of  the  whole  nation. 

As  stated  by  Hon.  Brisben  Walker,  the  institu- 
tion "quickly  became  a  political  power;  estab- 
lished branches  and  agencies  throughout  the 
country  to  control  vote  ft;  spent  money  freely  for 
political  corruption  ;"  and  when  it  went  down,  was 
reported  in  1839,  by  a  committee  of  its  own 
stockholders,  to  have  given  "sucli  an  exhibition  of 
waste  and  destruction,  ami  doirnright  plundering  ami 
criminal  misconduct,  as  was  never  seen  before  in  the 
annals  of  banking. '' 

"Thirty  millions  of  its  loans  were  not  of  a  mer- 
cantile character,  but  made  to  members  of  Con- 
gress, editors  of  newspapers,  politicians,  broke  rx,  fa- 
vorites, and  connections.^  And  it  continued  to 


160  TIIK    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

rule  until  the  will  and  wisdom  of  President  Jack- 
son put  an  end  to  the  great  monopoly.  He 
removed  the  government  deposits,  prevented  a 
re-charter,  and  in  1833  made  a  statement  to  Con- 
gress, giving  the  grounds  on  which  his  action 
was  based  toward  the  bank,  saying  "it  ivas  for 
attempting  to  control  the  elections,  producing  a  con- 
traction of  the  currency,  and  causing  general  distress. ' ' 
The  funeral  went  off  quietly,  with  but  few 
mourners,  and  the  American  people  were  liber- 
ated from  the  bondage  of  aggregated  wealth,  and 
Ohio  obtained  a  lease  for  a  number  of  prosperous 
decades.  But  the  war  of  the  Sixties  came,  and 
moneyed  combines  grew  in  power  and  audacity, 
until  many  persons  expressed  fears  for  the  laws, 
labor  and  liberties  of  the  common  people. 

Taking  into  consideration  the  small  number  of 
wealthy  persons  among  the  great  mass  of  the 
people,  it  is  rather  remarkable  that  so  many  pa- 
triotic men  in  this  country,  from  the  days  of 
Washington  up  to  the  present  time,  have  ex- 
pressed emphatically  their  fears  for  the  welfare 
of  the  republic  should  it  fall  under  the  destruc- 
tive power  of  concentrated  and  organized  wealth. 

President  Jackson  declared  it  was  "better  to 
incur  any  inconvenience  that  may  be  reasonably 
expected  than  to  concentrate  the  whole  money  power 
of  the  republic  in  any  form  whatsoever,  or  under 
any  restrictions."  He  had  seen  the  arrogant  in- 
fluences under  all  the  restrictions  law  could  give, 
and  gave  the  warning  statement  that  what  he 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  161 

saw  were  but  premonitions  of  the  fate  that  awaits 
the  American  people  should  they  be  deluded  into 
sustaining  institutions  of  "organized  wealth." 

President  Lincoln  said,  at  the  close  of  the  san- 
guinary struggle  :  "It  has  cost  a  vast  amount  of 
treasure  and  blood  ;  but  I  see  in  the 

near  future  a  crisis  approaching  that  unnerves 
me  and  causes  me  to  tremble  for  the  safety  of 
the  country.  As  the  result  of  war  corporations 
have  been  enthroned,  and  an  era  of  corruption  in 
high  places  will  follow,  and  the  money  power  of 
the  country  will  endeavor  to  prolong  its  reign  by 
working  upon  the  prejudices  of  the  people,  until 
all  wealth  is  aggregated  into  a  few  hands,  and 
the  republic  is  destroyed.  I  feel  at  this  moment 
more  anxiety  for  the  safety  of  my  country  than 
ever  before,  even  in  the  midst  of  war.  God 
grant  that  my  suspicion  may  prove  groundless." 

These  and  other  prophetic  warnings  carry  with 
them  a  vast  degree  of  thoughtful  solemnity,  due 
to  our  knowledge  of  man  and  the  signs  of 
the  times.  When  the  successful  candidate  for 
office  is  made  to  depend  upon  the  size  of  the 
campaign  fund,  and  party  success  more  or  less 
assured  in  proportion  to  the  length  of  figures  be- 
yond a  dollar  mark,  the  liberties  of  the  common 
people  are  fraught  with  danger,  if  not  already 
destroyed. 

Wherever  the  corrupting  influence  of  money 
has  been  permitted  to  enter  politics,  it  has  be- 
14 


162  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

come  more  successful  than  just  and  salutary  an- 
nouncements, and  has  been  used  aggregatingly 
by  the  wealthy  in  amounts  sufficient  to  secure 
their  own  interests,  regardless  of  party  lines  or 
the  welfare  of  the  public.  This  may  appear  se- 
vere in  statement,  but  it  is  nevertheless  true  to 
the  experience  of  one  who  has  seen  nearly  four 
score  years  of  our  republican  form  of  government. 
The  writer  would  gladly  soften  the  roughness 
with  charity,  had  he  ever  witnessed  a  compensat- 
ing virtue  or  redeeming  excuse  for  permitting  the 
money  power  to  run  the  government,  make  the 
laws  and  rule  the  people. 

So  great  is  the  apparent  fear,  too,  by  the 
money  power  that  the  government  may  pass  into 
the  hands  of  the  common  people,  and  those  less 
than  multi-millionaires  may  aspire  to  political 
preferment,  that  organized  leagues  are  spread 
over  the  entire  Northern  states,  like  political  fly- 
traps, with  plenty  of  the  "sticky  stuff,"  in  order 
to  hold  the  ignorant  and  indifferent  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  rich  and  their  party  alliances.  The 
organization  of  wealth  for  increasing  its  influ- 
ence on  legislation,  or  other  purposes,  under  the 
title  of  kkThe  National  Business  Men's  League,'' 
is  not  looked  upon  in  any  very  commendable 
lio'ht  bv  the  average  American,  and  has  been 

c>  *.  O 

pronounced  "unsavory"  by  many  honest  men. 

"The  promoters  of  this  league/'  says  Senator 
Quay,  ''invokes  a  class  against  the  masses  and 
all  other  classes.  No  league  of  business  men, 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  163 

based  upon  wealth,  can  erect  a  government  class 
in  this  country.  In  the  United  States  Senate  we 
have  millionaires  and  business  men  enough  to 
serve  all  legitimate  purposes.  Senators  are 
needed  who  have  no  specialties,  l)nt  u'Jto  will  act 
for  the  -interests  of  the  country  in  gross,  without  spe- 
cial affinities. 

"The  people  most  deserving  of  a  representation, 
and  most  in  need  of  legislative  protection,  are  the 
farmers,  the  small  store-keeper*,  the  artisans,  and 
the  day-laborers,  and  I  stand  by  them,  and  against 
this  'league.'  I  go  into  the  barricades  with  the 
bourgeoisie  and  the  men  in  blouses. 

"There  must  be  less  business  and  more  people 
in  our  politics,  else  the  republican  party  and  the 
country  will  go  to  wreck.  The  business  issues  are 
making  our  politics  sordid  and  corrupt.  The  tre- 
mendous sums  of  money  furnished  by  business  men, 
reluctantly  in  most  instances,  are  polluting  the  well- 
spring*  of  our  national  being.'' 

It  is  unpleasant  to  look  upon  the  dark  side  of 
any  question,  and  especially  that  of  our  lovely 
country,  and  still  go  on  ignoring  the  lessons  given 
us  by  the  fathers  of  the  nation.  When  we  com- 
pare the  administrations  of  Washington,  Adams, 
and  others,  with  the  present  ravening  greed  for 
place  by  those  who  look  upon  official  position  as 
the  gateway  to  sudden  wealth,  the  inquiry  sug- 
gests itself,  and  the  desire  to  know  the  points  of 
compass  the  nation  is  drifting,  and  at  what  port 


1()4  TIIK    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

the  ship  of  state  is  expected  to  enter  if  continued 
on  the  dark  lines  of  the  present  chart? 

History  is  full  of  object-lessons — storms,  wrecks 
and  disasters  that  have  ended  all  attempts  to  per- 
petuate a  republican  form  of  government  by  the 
power  of  organized  wealth.  Money  is  powerful, 
and  may  govern  for  a  season.  But  legislation 
that  concentrates  the  wealth  of  the  nation  into 
the  hands  of  a  privileged  few  causes  the  govern- 
ment to  rest  upon  a  sandy  foundation.  The  com- 
mon people  will  eventually  tire,  become  restless 
and  revengeful. 

The  money  interests  of  the  United  States  and 
those  of  Europe  are  the  same.  And  when  the 
accumulation  becomes  so  great  it  can  not  satisfy 
personal  greed  for  gain,  it  finds  its  way  into 
landed  investments,  chiefly  in  the  United  States. 
At  the  present  rate  of  concentration  and  transfer 
into  realty,  the  period  can  not  be  far  in  the 
future  when  all  the  valuable  lands  in  the  United 
States  will  be  owned  and  controlled  by  a  few  im- 
mensely wealthy  families  in  this  country  and  in 
Europe.  The  "money  power,"  with  its  "trusts,'' 
"combines,"  high  fences,  barb-wired,  armed  po- 
lice on  the  outside  and  bulldogs  within,  may 
smile  at  the  success  giving  financial  control  of 
the  profits  of  all  kinds  of  labor  necessary  in  the 
development  and  manufacture  of  the  resources  of 
nature.  Still,  the  aristocratic  pyramid  is  incom- 
plete until  the  soil  and  profits  from  cultivation 


PROFESSIONS,    ETC.  165 

are  owned  and  controlled  by  the  "systematic  and 
satisfactory  management  of  a  "land  trust.' 

It  is  manifest  now  that  wealth  is  seeking  un- 
usual investments  in  farming  lands  by  the  money 
kings  of  Europe  and  America,  when  a  single  lord 
of  England  can  own  three  million  acres  in  the 
heart  of  the  most  fertile  section  of  the  United 
States,  and  have  his  rack-rents  sent  to  Viscount 
Scully,  in  Europe.  Sir  Edward  Reid  owns  two 
million  acres  ;  the  Marquis  of  Tweeddale,  one 
million  seven  hundred  thousand  acres,  and  sev- 
ered others  of  the  titled  aristocracy  of  Europe 
own  farms  ranging  from  forty  thousand  to  three 
million  acres  each,  making  in  the  aggregate  an 
area  of  several  states.  And  quite  recently  fifty 
million  acres  more  have  passed  into  the  hands  of 
the  English  stockholders  in  the  distribution  of 
the  land  grants  to  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad. 

™ 

These  large  bodies  of  land  owned  by  aliens — 
lords  of  Europe,  with  the  syndicates  and  Amer- 
ican monopolies  and  railroad  grants,*  and  special 
gifts  by  Congress  of  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
seven  million  six  hundred  and  ninety-nine  thou- 
sand acres  to  the  rich  monopolies  in  this  country 
and  Europe,  amount  to  an  area  greater  than  the 
sum  of  eleven  states  of  average  size,  and  which 
may  ere  long  be  considered  sufficient  to  constitute 
a  respectable  nucleus  for  an  "AMERICAN  LAND 
TRUST.' 


^Minnesota,  with  an  area  of  4(5. 000. 000  acres,  jrave  L'0, 000,000 
acres  to  3,200  miles  of  railroads. 


1GG  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OHIO— HER   BEASTS,  BIRDS,  AND   TREES:    AIDS 
TO   HIGHER   CIVILIZATION. 


BEASTS. 

In  the  absence  of  native  beasts,  birds,  and 
trees,  a  country  is  unfitted  for  the  habitation  of 
man.  Nature  had  given  to  Ohio  these  supports 
to  life  and  aids  to  civilization  in  great  abun- 
dance. 

The  Indian  was  not  inclined  to  improve  his 
"talents,"  still  he  was  exceedingly  kind,  through 
instinct  or  wisdom,  in  preserving  in  nature's 
superlative  beauty  things  necessary  for  the  com- 
ing man. 

Of  the  various  Avild  animals  in  Ohio,  no  one 
species  has  ever  shown  greater  numerical  strength 
than  the  gray  squirrel.  In  the  early  settlements, 
he  often  annoyed  his  new  neighbors  with  his  mis- 
chievous habits  and  petty  larcenies ;  neverthe- 
less, the  pioneer  was  generally  pleased  to  see 
him,  as  at  all  seasons  he  was  good  for  a  savory 
meal. 

At  times  these  little  animals  became  so  numer- 
ous and  destructive  to  crops  they  were  more  to 
be  feared  than  is  the  rabbit  in  California  or 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREKS,     ETC.  167 

grasshopper  in  Kansas.  For  many  years,  settlers 
were  obliged  to  guard  their  fields  when  planted 
with  corn,  or  droves  of  foraging  bands  woidd  dig 
up  the  hills  and  eat  the  growing  grains  ;  when 
the  crops  matured,  they  were  still  more  de- 
structive, and  boys  when  quite  young  were 
taught  to  handle  the  rifle,  and  when  employed 
as  guards  became  expert  marksmen.  Most 
every  one  old  enough  to  use  a  gun  could  put  a 
ball  through  the  head  of  a  squirrel  three  times 
in  five  or  better  on  the  topmost  boughs  of  the 
lofty  hardwood  timber  which  covered  the  face  of 
the  country. 

The  amount  of  forest  was  so  extensive  and  un- 
disturbed that  the  squirrel  at  times  increased  to 
a  degree  which  made  him  disastrous  to  crops  in 
spite  of  guards,  guns,  traps,  and  "deadfalls,"' 
and  caused  him  to  become  a  subject  for  legisla- 
tion, encouraging  his  destruction  by  obligations 
and  rewards.  When  becoming  too  numerous, 
and  subsistence  scarce,  they  migrate  to  other 
parts,  and  often  in  numbers  so  great  it  would  re- 
quire many  days  for  the  marching  column  of 
several  miles  in  width  to  pass  any  given  point. 
The  Ohio  river  was  a  favorable  place  to  capture 
and  kill  them,  as  they  arrived  on  shore  weak  and 
wet.  Many  were  drowned  in  the  attempt  to 
swim.  The  inhabitants  along  the  river  at  such 
times  made  it  a  business  to  kill  them  bv  wa<jon 

V  O 

loads  to  feed  and  fatten  hogs. 

The   country  through  which   an   army  of  this 


168  TIIK    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

kind  marched  left  nothing  out  doors  in  the  way 
of  subsistence.  The  first  migration  of  this  kind 
causing  serious  alarm  occurred  in  1807  directly 
after  corn-planting  ;  and  in  all  the  southern  coun- 
ties of  the  state,  it  became  impossible  to  guard 
the  fields,  and  continued  so  long  that  the  corn 
crop  was  a  failure  over  a  large  extent  of  coun- 
try, and  farmers  were  obliged  to  buy  grain  for 
bread. 

The  legislature  was  appealed  to,  and  a  statute 
enacted  the  same  year,  making  it  imperative  for 
every  person  within  the  state,  subject  to  the  pay- 
ment of  tax,  to  furnish  a  specified  number  of 
squirrel  scalps,  to  be  determined  by  the  trustees 
of  the  township,  whose  duty  it  was  to  give  the 
lister  the  number  required  from  each  individual. 
This  was  intended  as  a  tax  in  addition  to  other 
taxes,  making  the  penalty  for  refusal  or  neglect 
the  same  as  that  of  a  delinquent  tax-payer.  And 
a  non-tax-payer,  and  tax-payers  furnishing  scalps 
in  excess  of  the  required  number,  were  entitled 
to  two  cents  per  scalp,  to  be  paid  from  the  funds 
of  the  county.  But,  witli  all  the  boys  and  guns 
and  other  devices  for  destruction  to  keep  the 
number  down  to  a  minimum,  the  usual  amount 
seemed  but  little  changed,  and  squirrel  raids  con- 
tinued, occasionally,  all  the  same. 

A  good  story  is  told  by  an  old  lumberman, 
who,  in  the  early  days  of  steamboating  on  the 
Ohio  river,  contracted  to  deliver  on  board  of 
steamboat  one  hundred  thousand  shingles  at  a 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC'.  169 

"wood-landing"  of  one  of  the  river  counties  in 
Ohio.  The  shingles  were  stacked  on  the  bank  of 
the  river  ready  for  shipment.  A  few  days  after, 
the  lumberman  heard  most  of  his  "stuff  had 
been  stolen,  and  that  it  was  probable  it  had  gone 
to  Pittsburg.  On  receiving  this  unwelcome 
news,  he  drove  down  to  the  river  to  look  after 
the  condition  of  things.  Before  he  reached  the 
place  he  found  the  woods  alive  with  squirrels 
marching  toward  the  river. 

On  his  return  the  workmen  asked  what  dis- 
coveries were  made.  The  reply  was,  "The 
shingles  never  went  to  Pittsburg;"  "they  all 
went  down  the  river,  and  it  is  useless  to  look 
in  Pittsburg  or  any  other  place  for  them."  .  .  . 
"I  got  to  the  river  just  in  time  to  know  all 
about  it.  You  see,  the  squirrels  are  marching 
and  crossing  the  river  at  that  point  ;  and  the 
commanding  general  is  not  much  on  a  swim, 
and  he  carried  one  of  my  shingles  down  to  the 
water  and  rode  over  on  it,  and  every  colonel,  cap- 
tain, lieutenant  and  commissioned  and  non-com- 
missioned officer  did  Avhat  they  saw  their  general 
do,  and  finally  the  rank  and  file  made  a  raid,  and 
I  got  there  just  as  an  old  squirrel  came  down  to 
the  water  dragging  a  shingle,  which  he  shoved 
into  the  river,  jumped  upon  it,  raised  his  brush 
for  a  sail  and  went  over  high  and  dry ;  and 
when  near  enough  the  other  shore  leaped  off  and 
let  his  boat  float  down  the  stream.  As  soon  as 
15 


170  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

these  observations  were  taken  in,  I  went  up  on 
the  high  bank  where  the  shingles  had  been 
stored,  and  found  there  was  not  a  shingle  left — 
they  are  clown  the  river,  gentlemen — down  the 
river,  sure." 

This  story  receives  a  shadow  of  support  from 
the  learned  and  cautious  Buffon,  who  observes  : 
"Although  the  navigations  of  the  grey  squirrels 
seem  almost  incredible,  they  are  attested  by  so 
many  witnesses  that  we  can  not  deny  the  fact." 
And  in  a  note  on  the  subject  says:  "The  grey 
squirrels  frequently  remove  their  place  of  resi- 
dence, and  it  not  unoften  happens  that  not  one 
can  be  seen  one  winter  where  they  were  in  multi- 
tudes the  year  before  ;  they  go  in  large  bodies, 
and  when  they  want  to  cross  a  lake  or  river  they 
seize  a  piece  of  tlie  bark  of  a  birch  or  lime,  and 
drawing  it  to  tltc  edge  of  the  water,  get  vpon  it,  and 
trust  themselves  to  the  hazard  of  the  wind  and  waves, 
erecting  their  tails  to  serve  the  purpose  of  sails; 
they  sometimes  form  a  fleet  of  three  or  four 
thousand,  and  if  the  wind  proves  too  strong,  a 
general  shipwreck  ensues  .  .  .  but  if  the 
winds  are  favorable  they  are  certain  to  make 
their  desired  port."* 

The  squirrel  is  an  industrious  and  sagacious 
animal.  He  lays  up  stores  of  provisions  for 
future  use,  and  conceals  them  where  others  of 
his  kind  are  unable  to  find  them.  And  his 


*  Barr's  Euffon,  Vol.  VII,  page  175. 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC. 


171 


memory  is  so  perfect,  and  location  of  place  so 
unerring,  that  in  dead  of  winter,  and  short  of  a 
meal,  he  will  quit  his  warm  nest  in  the  hollow 
limb  of  some  tree,  plunge  into  deep  snow  and  go 
direct  a  long  distance  to  the  exact  spot  where 
months  before  he  had  buried  a  \valnut  or  an  acorn, 
and  dig  down  ami  get  the  treasure  and  return 
with  it  to  his  home. 


The  Squirrel  Hunter. 

It  was  once  said,  "To  number  the  Bison  would 
be  like  counting  the  leaves  of  the  forest1' — so, 
too,  the  myriads  of  squirrels  that  inhabited  the 
unbroken  forests  of  Ohio  evidently  approached  in 
number  the  incalculable  hosts  of  buffalo  that  in 
the  grandeur  of  their  numerical  strength  swept 
over  the  western  plains. 

The  rabbit  multiplies  six  times  as  fast  as  the 


172  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

squirrel,  yet  lie  has  never  appeared  in  such  mul- 
titudes as  that  of  his  bushy-tailed  cousin.  Hap- 
pen what  may  he  is,  however,  always  on  hand. 
He  loves  civilization  and  prefers  the  grassy  fields, 
standing  corn  and  sunny  hillsides  to  the  wilds  of 
the  forests,  and  is  always  as  ready  to  care  for  the 
waste  apples  in  the  orchard  as  he  is  to  hark 
around  the  young  trees.  He  is  an  annoying 
tenant — timid  by  nature  and  easily  captured. 
Millions  are  sold  in  the  markets  every  year,  but 
can  not  come  up  in  numbers  with  the  squirrel  in 
his  palmy  days.  The  "one  day's  rabbit  shoot- 
ing" at  Lamar,  Colo.,  by  two  hundred  guns, 
December  31,  1894,  resulted  in  the  capture  of 
five  thousand  one  hundred  and  forty-two  (5,142)  ; 
but  compared  with  a  squirrel  hunt  in  Franklin 
county,  Ohio,  August  20,  1822,  it  does  not  appear 
so  large  ;  when  a  less  number  of  guns  killed  nine- 
teen thousand  six  hundred  and  sixty  ;  and  evi- 
dently not  a  "very  good  day  for  squirrels  to  be 
out  either." 

No  part  of  the  North-west,  in  a  state  of  nature, 
was  so  well  adapted  to  the  propagation  and  pre- 
servation of  game  beasts  and  birds  as  that 
within  the  geographical  limits  of  Ohio.  To 
show  the  immense  amount  of  large  game  which 
also  existed  long  after  settlements  had  been 
made,  it  is  but  necessary  to  give  the  results 
of  a  single  day's  hunt,  confined  to  one  township 
of  five  miles  square,  in  the  county  of  Medina, 
December  24,  1818,  and  which  is  authentically 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  173 

described  by  Henry  Howe  in  his  "Historical 
Collections  of  Ohio,"  Vol.  II,  pages  4G3  to  4G7, 
inclusive  :  "The  accurate  enumeration  of  the 
game  killed  at  the  center  (of  the  drive)  resulted 
as  follows  :  Seventeen  wolves,  twenty-one  bears, 
three  hundred  deer,  besides  turkeys,  coons  and /curs 
not  counted."  The  wolf-scalps  were  good  for  fif- 
teen dollars  each,  making  a  draw  on  the  treasury 
for  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  dollars.  Many 
counties  in  Ohio  were  not  formed  nor  settled 
for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  becom- 
ing part  of  the  state,  and  a  few  much  later, 
the  last  being  that  of  Noble,  in  1851,  making  in 
all  eighty-eight  counties. 

Consequently,  game  of  all  kinds  remained  in 
abundance  in  Henry,  Hancock,  Hardin,  Lucas, 
Marion,  Noble,  Williams,  and  some  others.  As 
late  as  1845  two  men  in  Williams  county  made 
an  effort  to  see  who  could  kill  the  greater  number 
of  deer,  each  confining  his  operations  to  a  single 
township  of  his  own  election.  One  selected  Su- 
perior and  the  other  Center  township  ;  the  hunt 
to  last  sixty  days. 

At  the  expiration  of  the  time,  one  had  killed 
ninety-nine  and  the  other  sixty-five.  The  suc- 
cess of  neither  caused  remarks  of  admiration 
among  the  "squirrel  hunters,"  a  few  of  whom 
boastingly  declared  they  could  show  a  much 
greater  list  in  the  given  time  if  they  were  in- 
clined to  hunt  for  quantity. 

When    the    "Reports,    Explorations   and    Sur- 


174 


THK  SQUIRREL 


vejs"  were  made  to  ascertain  the  most  prac- 
ticable and  economical  route  for  a  railroad  from 
the  Mississippi  river  to  the  Pacific  ocean,  un- 
der the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  War, 
in  1853  to  185G,  the  yast  public  domain  was 
shown  to  be  rich  in  herds  of  buffalo,  elk,  deer, 
and  smaller  game  of  botli  beasts  and  birds.  It 
was  at  this  time  the  bison  swarmed  over  all  the 
Western  plains  and  hills,  from  the  great  rivers  to 
the  ocean  and  from  Canada  to  the  Gulf  in  num- 
bers beyond  the  power  of  computation. 


A  Herd  of  Bison. 

Of  all  the  quadrupeds  known  to  inhabit  the 
earth,  no  one  species  ever  marshaled  such  in- 
numerable armies  as  that  of  the  American  bison. 
As  late  as  1871,  it  was  estimated  that  south  of 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  line  there  were  be- 
tween three  and  four  million  head.  As  soon  as 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  175 

the  road  entered  the  territory  the  destruction  be- 
gan, and  by  the  reports  of  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitution, the  miserable  "pot-hunters"  in  1872 
killed  over  a  million  and  a  quarter  ;  and  during 
the  first  three  years  after  the  road  was  completed 
this  band  of  thieves  and  murderers  slaughtered 
over  three  millions  of  these  valuable  animals, 
taking  the  hides  of  some  and  tongues  of  others, 
but  leaving  untouched  where  they  fell  more  than 
half  of  this  immense  number.  As  American 
game  the  bison  exists  no  more.  The  only  few 
remaining  out  of  captivity  arc  at  Yellowstone 
Park. 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  the  policy  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  regard  to  the  natural  wealth  of  the 
"public  domain''  has  ever  shown  such  a  lack  of 
wisdom,  forethought,  and  power  as  to  permit  the 
immediate  exhaustion  leaving  nothing  for  the 
legitimate  heirs  And  it  seems  singular  that 
such  a  well  known  and  immense  storehouse  of 
national  wealth,  as  that  of  the  buffalo,  the  an- 
nuity of  which  supported  more  than  thirty  thou- 
sand natives  of  the  country,  should  have  been 
left  unprotected  against  those  who  have  destroyed 
the  forests  and  killed  the  cattle  on  a  thousand 
hills. 

Governor  Isaac  I.  Stevens,  in  his  report  of  esti- 
mates of  the  Pacific  Railroad  in  1854  to  Jeffer- 
son Davis,  Secretary  of  War,  says:  "The  sup- 
plies of  meat  for  all  the  laborers  on  this  line  east 
of  the  mountains  will  be  furnished 


17G 


THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 


from  the  plains.  The  inexhaustible  herds  of 
buffalo  will  supply  amply  the  whole  force  till  the 
road  is  completed." 


Camp  Red  River  Hunters. 

There  were  at  that  time  twenty-seven  known 
tribes  of  Indians  west  of  the  Missouri  river,  of 
which  the  greater  part  subsisted  by  hunting  the 
buffalo  ;  and  he  says  of  the  hunters  from  Mouse 
river  valley  to  the  Red  river  of  the  North : 
"They  make  two  hunts  each  year,  leaving  a  por- 
tion of  their  numbers  at  home  to  take  care  of 
their  houses  and  farms  :  One  from  the  middle 
of  June  to  the  middle  of  August,  when  they  make 
'pcmican'  and  dry  meat,  and  prepare  the  skins  of 
buffalo  for  lodges  and  moccasins  ;  and  again  from 
the  middle  of  September  to  the  middle  of  Novem- 
ber, when,  besides  the  pemican  and  dried  meat, 
the  skin  is  dried  into  robes." 

"I  estimate   that  four  months  each  year  two 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  177 

thousand  hunters,  three  thousand  women  and 
children,  and  eighteen  hundred  carts  are  on  the 
plains  ;  and  estimating  the  load  of  a  cart  at  eight 
hundred  pounds,  and  allowing  three  hundred 
'carts  for  luggage,  that  twelve  hundred  tons  of 
meat,  skins,  and  furs  is  their  product  of  the 
chase.'"* 

"These  people  are  simple-hearted,  honest,  and 
industrious,  and  would  make  good  citizens. 
Each  year  they  carry  off  to  the  settlements  at 
Pembina  at  least  two  million  five  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  of  buffalo  meat,  dried,  or  in  the 
shape  of  pemican."  Large  tribes,  as  the  Gros 
Ventres,  Bloods,  Piegans,  and  others,  had  hunted 
and  feasted  for  ages  without  diminishing  the 
number  or  strength  of  "the  inexhaustible  herds 
of  buffalo,"  described  by  Governor  Stevens  in 
1854. ' 

This  source  of  subsistence  to  a  numerous  and 
poor  people,  and  immense  wealth  to  the  nation, 
was  wantonly  destroyed  by  the  "pot-hunter,"  who 
is  in  no  way  related  to  the  "squirrel  hunter," 
but  stands  in  about  the  same  relation  to  the 
sportsman  as  does  the  "missing  link"'  to  the 
species  he  disgraces.  He  is  a  destructive  animal, 
and  it  is  as  useless  to  hope  any  species  of  game, 
beast  or  bird,  will  ever  exist  in  numbers  too  great 
for  this  wily  loafer  to  destroy,  as  it  is  to  expect 
legal  enactments  and  penalties  will  ever  prevent 
him  doing  evil. 

*  Stevens's  Report. 


178  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

The  selfishness  that  exterminated  the  buffalo — 
"might  makes  rigJif1 — runs  through  the  veins  of 
the  white  man.  In  the  same  report  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  War.  in  which  Mr.  Stevens  calls  attention 
of  settlers  to  "many  pleasant  valleys"  that  are 
occupied  by  "friendly  Indians — in  some  instances 
described  with  log  houses,  cultivated  fields, 
barns,  flocks  and  herds,  mills  and  churches,  with 
good  morals  and  observance  of  the  Sabbath  day — 
that  many  tribes  live  in  a  rich  and  inviting  coun- 
try, and  are  wealthy  in  horses,  cattle,  and  hogs." 
He  closes  by  saying  :  "Laws  should  be  passed  for 
the  extinguishment  of  the  Indian  title.  Posts 
are  recommended  with  half  regiments  of  mounted 
men,  with  a  battery  of  horse  artillery,  and  one 
of  mountain  howitzers  ;  that  all  the  Indians 
west  of  the  mountains  'should  be  placed  in 
reservation,'  and  the  country  opened  to  settle- 
ment." 

It  is  stated  that  with  a  small  distribution 
of  presents  and  "  prudence,  judgment,  and  d/x- 
play  of  a  small  military  force,  no  difficulty  will  be 
experienced  in  accomplishing  these  arrangements 
so  essential  to  the  construction  of  the  road." 
And  it  does  not  appear  that  the  government  pro- 
tected the  rights  of  those  in  possession  of  the 
"fertile  valleys"  any  more  than  it  did  the  game 
it  knew  gave  support  to  the  people  inhabiting  the 
country.  If  the  same  careless  indifference  and 
love  of  greed  that  wantonly  destroyed  the  game 
beasts  which  existed  upon  the  vast  unoccupied 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  179 

domain  west  of  the  Mississippi  had  in  like  man- 
ner forestalled  the  settlement  of  the  "North-west 
Territory"  by  killing  all  the  game,  population 
and  civilization  would  have  been  suspended  if 
not  made  improbable  within  the  past  century. 

The  area  of  Ohio  was  well  supplied  with  a 
variety  of  the  most  attractive  game,  fed  and 
marked  by  Nature  as  her  own,  free  for  all — which 
made  the  early  settlements  contented,  independ- 
ent, and  observing.  No  means  of  education 
gives  the  mind  so  much  satisfaction  and  confi- 
dence in  truth  and  reality  as  the  study  of  the  ob- 
ject lessons  received  while  living  in  a  garden  of 
Nature,  an  invited  guest. 

"All  self-educated  persons,''  says  Doctor  New- 
man, "are  likely  to  have  more  thought,  more 
mind,  more  philosophy,  than  those  who  are 
forced  to  load  their  minds  with  a  score  of  sub- 
jects against  an  examination — who  have  too 
much  on  their  hands  to  indulge  in  thinking  or  in- 
vestigation. .  .  .  Much  better  is  it  for  the 
active  and  thoughtful  intellect  ...  to  eschew 
the  college  and  university  altogether  than  to  sub- 
mit to  a  drudgery  so  ignoble,  a  mockery  so  con- 
tumelious. 

"How  much  more  profitable  for  the  independ- 
ent mind  after  the  rudiments  of  education  to  pur- 
sue the  train  of  thought  which  his  mother-wit 
suggests  !  How  much  healthier  to  wander  in  the 
fields,  and  there  with  the  exiled  prince  to  find 
'  Tongues  in  trees,  books  in  running  brooks.' 


THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

How  much  more  genuine  an  education  is  that  of 
the  poor  boy  in  the  poem — 

'As  the  village  school  and  books  a  few  supplied,' 

contrived  from  the  beach,  and  the  quay,  and 
fisher's  boat,  and  the  inn's  fireside,  and  the 
tradesman's  shop,  and  shepherd's  walk,  and 
smuggler's  hut,  and  the  mossy  moor,  and  the 
screaming  gulls,  and  restless  waves,  to  fashion 
for  himself  a  philosophy  and  poetry  of  his  own.'' 
Sir  Walter  Scott  long  ago  declared  :  "The  best 
part  of  every  man's  education  is  that  which  he 
gives  himself." 

This  was  the  nature  of  the  school  system  in 
Ohio.  The  young  population  grew  up  among 
the  beasts  and  birds  and  trees  ;  each  of  which  in 
turn  served  as  teacher.  Not  only  the  burley  bear 
and  nimble  deer,  but  even  the  pestiferous  vermin, 
were  aiders  and  abettors  in  education  and  the 
rise  of  the  new  civilization.  The  coons,  the 
foxes,  the  beavers,  the  otters,  minks,  muskrats, 
and  skunk,  carried  legal  tenders  with  them  and 
furnished  the  chief  circulating  medium  known  to 
the  country  for  many  years. 

With  the  trained  dog,  the  boys  in  the  wilder- 
ness were  enabled  to  secure  pelts  to  send  to  Bos- 
ton for  books,  which  erected  the  superstructure 
of  more  great  men  than  can  be  found  as  the  pro- 
duction of  any  other  state  or  country  in  a  single 
century.  And  to-day  the  intelligent  squirrel 
hunter  makes  a  respectful  bow  to  the  little  ani- 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  181 

mals  for  the  honorable  part  they  so  successfully 
performed  in  creating  the  new  species  and  plac- 
ing Ohio  permanently  in  the  lead  of  a  nation  of 
the  best  informed  people  in  the  world. 

BIRDS. 

"  For  wheresoe'er  your  murmuring  tremors  thrill 
The  woody  twilight,  there  mail's  heart  hath  still 
Conferred  a  spirit  breath,  and  heard  a  ceaseless  hymn." 

The  number  of  species  of  birds  found  at  various 
times  in  Ohio  amount  to  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
two  ;  while  the  number  breeding  in  the  state  is 
placed  at  one  hundred  and  twenty-nine  ;  and  if 
the  probable  summer  residents  are  counted  the 
number  would  be  increased  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy-one.  An  eminent  ornithologist  says  in  a 
recent  work  :  ''To  cast  the  horoscope  of  the  bird- 
life  of  the  future  is  uncertain  work,  and  perhaps 
without  profit  ;  but  the  stars  certainly  predict 
utter  extermination  of  the  finest  of  all  game 
birds — the  wild  turkey — and  the  diminution  to 
the  point  of  extermination  of  the  ruffed  grouse, 
the  quail,  the  wood  duck  and  wild  pigeon."* 

Game  birds  as  well  as  song  birds  would  from 
natural  causes  alone  diminish  in  number,  as  their 
selected  homes  or  breeding  places  become  de- 
stroyed by  clearing  up  the  country.  But  in 
addition  to  this,  the  unseasonable  and  inhuman 
destruction  by  means  of  firearms  has  become  so 


Illustrations  of  the  Nests  and  Eggs  of  Birds  of  Ohio. 


182  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

alarmingly  great  as  to  foretell  that  at  no  distant 
day  most  of  the  desirable  species  of  birds  that 
are  permanent  residents  will  have  been  destroyed. 

It  is  generally  known  by  the  older  "Squirrel 
Hunters"1  that  from  their  first  knowledge  of  the 
North-west  to  beginning  of  the  railroad  era,  1855, 
Ohio  was  a  paradise  for  the  sportsman  with  dog 
and  gun.  The  fields  abounded  with  covies  of 
quail  ;  the  forests  with  wild  turkeys,  grouse, 
pigeons  and  squirrels ;  and  the  streams  with 
ducks  and  geese.  Up  to  the  period  named  the, 
conditions  of  the  country  underwent  but  few 
changes  detrimental  to  the  propagation  and  pre- 
servation of  game,  and  the  abundant  supplies 
afforded  amusement  and  subsistence  equaled  at 
present  nowhere  within  the  limits  of  the  United 
States. 

The  settlements  as  yet  contained  many  reser- 
vations of  continuous  tracts  of  undisturbed  forest, 
wild  ranges,  islands  along  the  larger  water- 
courses, overflowing  lands,  unmolested  parts  of 
large  estates,  military  and  school  reservations, 
etc.,  often  embracing  sections  of  rich  soil  heavily 
timbered  and  densely  covered  with  an  under- 
growth of  bushes,  and  in  topography  well  adapted 
for  resorts  and  homes  of  game  birds  and  beasts. 

Few,  if  any,  of  those  timbered  reservations 
failed  to  be  occupied  by  every  species  and  variety 
of  nature's  household.  Some  locations  from  time 
immemorial  had  been  the  favorite  and  undis- 
puted habitation  of  that  most  wonderful  Ameri- 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,    ETC.  183 

can  bird,  the  wild  turkey.  For  lie  is  not  migra- 
tory, nor  an  aimless  wanderer  of  the  forest.  His 
instincts  and  attachments  to  place,  the  home  of 
his  ancestors,  are  so  great  that  generations  after 
generations  live  and  die  in  the  same  selected  site 
of  wild  territory.  No  persecution  can  induce 
him  to  abandon  his  accustomed  haunts.  Nothing 
but  death  or  the  removal  of  his  forest  ends  his 
family. 

The  area  of  his  home  requires  several  square 
miles,  and  includes  a  nursery,  feeding  grounds, 
ranches,  roosts  and  places  of  refuge  in  times  of 
danger.  And  if  by  pursuit  he  is  obliged  to  flee 
beyond  the  limit  of  his  range,  he  returns  to  his 
associates,  to  his  familiar  trees,  rocks  and  mount- 
ain streams. 

The  turkey  is  indigenous  to  America,  and  not 
found  wild  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  He 
resides  in  unsettled  sections  of  timbered  coun- 
tries, from  Mexico  to  the  forests  of  Canada,  and 
is  the  wildest,  most  intelligent  and  untamable  of 
all  the  birds.  "\Vhen  taken  directly  from  the 
shell,  and  reared  either  by  hand  or  with  domesti- 
cated turkeys,  he  will,  when  grown,  separate 
from  friends  and  accustomed  comrades,  and  in- 
stinctively seek  the  more  attractive  life  of  the 
forest.  No  care  and  kindness  can  in  one  or  two 
generations  overcome  the  fear  of  man  and  love 
for  the  wilds,  and  it  requires  many  generations 
of  skilled  schooling  to  extinguish  the  desire  for 
roving  and  give  to  him  that  contented  and  con- 


184  THK    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

filling  disposition  which  characterizes  the  domes- 
ticated bird.  The  writer  does  not  believe  it 
possible  for  a  bird  that  has  been  reared  in  a  state 
of  nature,  and  felt  the  charms  of  the  wilderness, 
to  ever  become  reconciled  to  any  other  conditions 
of  life.  He  once  brought  down  a  young  full- 
grown  female  bird  and  captured  her.  When  she 
found  resistance  useless,  she  cried  most  pitifully. 
She  had  suffered  no  injury  excepting  a  broken 
tip  of  one  wing,  which  was  amputated  and 
dressed.  The  bird  was  kept  in  a  large  cage  in 
the  back  yard  for  two  years,  remaining  concealed 
during  the  day  and  partaking  of  food  and  water 
late  in  the  evening,  and  then  in  the  absence  of 
every  object  of  fear.  In  due  time  she  was  re- 
moved to  a  garden  overgrown  with  bushes  of  cur- 
rants, gooseberries,  raspberries,  etc.,  interspersed 
with  strawberry  plants,  and  with  her  a  pair  of 
tame  turkeys.  Here  she  remained  over  two 
years  without  manifesting  the  least  indication  of 
making  the  acquaintance  of  her  civilized  rela- 
tions. A  misplaced  board  on  the  fence  gave  her 
the  boon  so  much  desired — freedom.  It  was  the 
beginning  of  summer  when  she  escaped  and  was 
searched  for,  but  seen  no  more  until  the  follow- 
ing spring,  when  she  was  noticed  several  times 
near  the  tame  turkeys,  and  this  always  very  early 
in  the  morning. 

That  she  could  get  there  at  that  hour,  or  get 
there  at  all  from  the  timbered  land  near  a  mile 
distant,  through  farms  and  fences,  seemed  re- 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREKS,    ETC.  185 

markable,  as  she  could  not  fly.  After  harvest  of 
that  year  she  frequented  the  stubble  fields  near 
the  timber,  with  four  well-grown  half-breeds, 
as  wild  as  herself.  The  next  spring  she  com- 
menced visiting  her  old  acquaintances  again, 
but,  unfortunately,  fell  in  sight  of  a  pot-hunter, 
and  was  brought  in  as  a  great  prize.  But  those 
who  had  kindly  cared  for  the  misfortunes  of  the 
bird,  and  now  looked  upon  her  lifeless  form,  had 
feelings  which  the  word  indignation  failed  to 
express. 

The  turkey  propagated  in  foreign  countries 
soon  becomes  degenerated,  and  in  every  way 
much  inferior  to  the  American  type,  the  high 
standard  of  which  in  this  country  is  kept  up  by 
infusion  of  wild  blood  and  liberal  forest  ranges 
adapted  to  the  nature  of  the  bird. 

The  wild  turkey  has  many  peculiarities  not 
found  in  any  other  species.  Other  birds  elect 
certain  localities  to  spend  their  nights,  while  the 
wild  turkey  puts  up  wherever  night  overtakes 
him  ;  for  his  range  is  his  home,  and  he  is  at 
home  any-where  in  his  range.  When  roosting  in 
considerable  numbers,  the  flock  is  dispersed  over 
an  extensive  area  of  forest.  He  seldom,  if  ever, 
roosts  two  consecutive  nights  in  or  near  the  same 
place.  When  the  leaves  are  on  the  trees  he  goes 
to  the  topmost  twigs  of  the  highest  trees,  and 
lets  his  heavy  body  down  upon  the  foliage  and 
small  branches,  and  fixes  himself  for  the  night 
16 


186  THK  SQUIRREL  HUNTERS. 

so  he  can  not  be  seen  by  enemies  from  above  nor 
from  below.  When  the  forest  is  bare  he  is  still 
more  careful  to  withdraw  from  observation,  and 
for  this  purpose  selects  large,  rough  and  broken 
trees — trees  with  ugly,  crooked  limbs,  with  knots 
and  deformities — and  places  himself  near  some 
bump,  crook,  or  place  where  the  addition  of  his 
body  will  be  readily  overlooked  ;  for  well  does  he 
understand  that  the  ordinary  pot-hunter  expects 
to  see  him  perched  upon  a  small  limb  far  out 
from  the  body  of  the  tree,  standing  on  his  legs, 
with  outstretched  neck  and  elevated  head.  But, 
instead  of  making  a  show,  lie  always  does  the 
best  he  can  to  conceal  himself,  and  if  nothing 
better  appears  at  hand,  he  will  take  to  a  large 
horizontal  limb,  and  near  the  trunk  of  the  tree 
flatten  his  body  down  on  the  upper  part  and 
stretch  out  the  neck  and  legs  on  line  with  the 
limb,  so  to  resemble  closely  a  slight  enlargement 
on  that  part  of  the  growth. 

He  knows  so  well  how  to  conceal  himself  when 
roosting  that  he  laughs  at  the  possibility  of  being 
seen  and  captured  by  the  marvelous  hunters  who 
have  killed  so  many  by  moonliylit!  The  arrival  of 
man  and  gun  in  his  forest  is  scented  and  signaled 
at  once.  The  birds  most  exposed  fly  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  hunter,  and  those  that  feel  safe 
keep  still  and  are  safe  from  observation. 

The  writer  admits,  after  testing  this  mode  of 
hunting  a^ter  night,  manv  times,  manv  seasons, 

o  o  «•  « 

and  with  many  persons,  that  he  has  never  been 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREKS,    ETC.  187 

able  to  find  a  turkey  on  a  tree  while  roosting. 
He  has  seen,  however,  and  measured  the  credi- 
bility of  the  individual  who  insists  that  he  has 
captured  a 'great  many  snipe  in  cold,  dark  winter 
nights,  by  holding  a  light  at  the  open  mouth  of 
a  bag  while  other  persons  drive  them  in,  but  has 
never  been  able  to  find  the  individual  who  shot  a 
wild  turkey  while  sitting  on  the  roost. 

A  friend  who  had  become  infatuated  with  the 
idea  of  night-hunting,  insisted  that  turkeys  could 
be  seen  on  bare  trees  when  the  moon  was  as  light 
and  bright  as  then  ;  and  the  reason  he  had  not 
been  heretofore  successful  was  owing  entirely  to 
the  ''if."  As  soon  as  the  moon  was  declared  all 
right  we  were  on  the  grounds  ;  could  hear  birds 
flying  off  the  trees  in  advance  of  us  as  soon  as 
we  entered  the  border.  Every  tree  in  our  path- 
way was  scanned,  without  seeing  an  object  resem- 
bling a  turkey.  The  writer  soon  tired  of  the 
amusement  and  retraced  his  steps  some  distance, 
and  sat  down  upon  an  old  log  lying  on  the  sand 
in  the  deep-cut  bed  of  a  creek. 

After  waiting  a  reasonable  time  and  hearing 
nothing  from  the  friend,  the  writer  called — 
waited  and  called  a  number  of  times  ;  but  all  re- 
mained silent.  Thinking  the  hunter  had  become 
bewildered  and  wandered  beyond  the  range  of 
vocal  sounds,  fired  one  barrel  of  the  gun  off, 
pointing  it  in  the  direction  of  the  moon,  which 
was  partially  obscured  by  some  of  the  small 


188  THE     SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

branches  of  a  large  sycamore  tree,  standing  on 
the  bank  of  the  opposite  side  of  the  creek 

The  gun.  made  a  loud  report,  and  so  did  a  large 
gobbler  as  he  came  flapping  down  through  the 
branches  into  the  creek,  having  received  a  mortal 
charge  of  shot.  The  signal  gun  soon  brought  in 
the  absent  member  of  the  expedition,  who,  on 
feeling  a  twenty-pound  bird  and  hearing  the  ex- 
planation, moved  it  be  made  unanimous,  as  the 
only  successful  way  to  shoot  wild  turkeys  by 
moonlight. 

Another  peculiarity  of  this  bird  may  be  men- 
tioned. In  the  spring  of  the  year  the  female 
birds  straggle  long  distances  from  the  flock,  and 
seek  temporary  separation  in  the  more  open  but 
unfrequented  parts  of  the  forest,  where  the  male 
birds  seldom,  if  ever,  resort.  Here  they  nest  and 
rear  their  young.  When  the  offspring  is  well 
grown  the  mother  birds,  with  young,  return  to 
the  flock,  after  which  old  and  young,  male  and 
female,  remain  together  as  one  family  during  fall 
and  winter. 

In-door  naturalists  and  authors  have  given  to 
the  world  many  singular  and  absurd  statements 
respecting  the  habits,  sagacity  and  instincts  of 
the  wild  turkey,  since  the  truthful  descriptions 
penned  by  John  James  Audubon,  F.R.S.,  S.L. 
and  E.  And  it  is  singular  that  the  eminent  natur- 
alist, Thomas  Nuttall,  A.M.T.,  L.S.  and  C., 
should  say  he  is  not  gregarious. 

Charles  Hallock,  the  able  editor  of  "Forest  and 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,  AND    TREES,   ETC.  189 

Stream,"  author  of  "Camp  Life,"  "Sportsman's 
Gazatteer,"  etc.,  states  that  in  the  spring  wild 
turkeys  "pair  off"  (like  blue-birds),  "and  after 
the  young  are  hatched  both  parents  take  great 
interest  in  the  growth  and  progress  of  the  young 
family;"  that  they  are  "easily  tamed;  are 
slaughtered  by  moonlight  while  roosting  ;  that  it 
is  rarely  a  wing-shot  can  be  procured  ;  that  they 
are  killed  by  sportsmen  in  various  ways,"  most  of 
which  is  not  much  less  at  variance  with  facts  in 
nature  than  the  statement  of  Mr.  Burrell  Symmes, 
who  claimed  that  he  had  outwitted  the  sagacity 
of  the  bird,  and  killed  at  one  shot,  with  a  rifle, 
a  large  flock  that  infested  a  wheat-stack  near 
their  range.  "The  turkeys  would  gather  around 
the  stack,  every  few  days,  as  close  as  they  could 
crowd  their  bodies,  pulling  out  wheat-heads 
to  eat;"  and,  taking  in  the  situation,  says  he 
bent  the  barrel  of  his  gun  to  the  segment  of  a 
circle  corresponding  to  the  diameter  of  the  area 
of  the  base  of  the  stack.  And  well  loaded  with 
powder  and  leaden  ball,  concealed  the  weapon  at 
the  proper  adjustment,  placing  himself  in  view 
of  the  situation,  with  a  cord  attached  to  the 
trigger.  The  turkeys  came,  and  unsuspectingly 
crowded  around  the  stack,  and  began  their  ac- 
customed repast.  Now  was  the  moment  for  ac- 
tion— "the  cord  was  pulled,  and  the  gun  fired, 
which  sent  the  ball  round  and  round  the  stack, 
until  it  mowed  down  every  last  turkey  in  the 
flock." 


190  THE     SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

Respecting  the  habits  and  peculiarities  of  the 
wild  turkey,  the  author  turned  up  a  slip  from  the 
lips  of  an  old  North  Carolina  negro,  who  gives 
the  best  pen-picture  of  the  home-life  of  the  bird 
that  has  fallen  to  the  notice  of  ornithologists. 
The  authography  is  somewhat  objectionable,  but 
the  whole  story  is  well  told.  Among  other  things 
he  says  the  wild  turkey  is  a  "mighty  peert 
fowl ;"  that  he  can  sometimes  teach  a  fox  how  to 
be  smart,  while  at  other  times  a  sucking  calf  is  not 
half  so  big  a  fool  as  he  makes  of  himself ;  that  he 
had  known  gobblers  to  outwit  all  the  hunters  in  the 
country,  and  then  walk  into  some  ordinary  colored 
man's  "pen"  and  stay  there,  "a  cranin  he  neck. 
an1  try  en  to  get  out  at  de  top  w'at  been  all  roof 
over,  wile  de  hole  in  de  groun'  w'at  he  came  in 
at  stans  wide  open.'' 

The  "pen"'  was  a  fatal  device,  capturing  an- 
nually thousands  of  those  birds  during  early  set- 
tlements. Before  the  extensive  forests  disap- 
peared turkeys  lived  well  in  the  fall  and  winter 
and  fattened  on  the  mast.  But  owing  to  the 
love  for  Indian  corn  they  were  by  a  moderate  dis- 
play of  this  food  easily  enticed  into  traps,  called 
"pens,"  when  placed  in  secluded  sections  of  for- 
est where  the  birds  were  known  to  seek  sub- 
sistence. 

Pens  were  usually  constructed  of  windfalls — 
old  limbs  of  various  sixes — making  an  inclosure 
of  ten  or  twelve  feet  square,  four  feet  in  height. 
and  covered  with  similar  limbs  weighted  down 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND  TREES,    ETC.  191 

with  other  limbs  placed  across  the  covering.  A 
trench,  eighteen  or  twenty  inches  deep  and  about 
the  same  width,  cut  to  enter  the  pen  two  feet, 
terminating  abruptly  slanting  upward.  Over  the 
part  of  the  trench  next  to  the  wall  were  secured  a 
number  of  small  poles  forming  a  bridge  a  foot 
wide.  Outside  of  the  pen  the  trench  extended, 
rising  gradually,  until  it  reached  the  level  of  the 
surrounding  ground. 

When  finished,  the  trap  would  be  well-baited 
with  corn  in  the  center  and  in  the  trench.  Small 
quantities  were  scattered  off  in  different  direc- 
tions from  the  pen,  and  a  few  grains  here  and 
there  for  a  mile  or  more.  After  the  birds  would 
find  a  few  grains,  the  entire  flock  would  engage 
in  search  for  more,  and  soon  the  trail  of  corn 
leading  to  the  pen  would  be  discovered,  and  rush- 
ing along  in  haste  would  enter  the  trench  un- 
awares, and  forcing  the  front  birds  in  the  trench 
under  the  bridge  and  up  into  the  pen  before 
danger  was  suspected.  As  soon  as  those  in  the 
inclosure  discovered  the  situation,  they  would 
try  to  force  their  way  through  the  openings  in 
the  pen,  passing  and  repassing  around  and  over 
the  bridge  with  heads  erect,  never  observing  the 
opening  by  which  they  entered — their  comrades 
would  soon  disappear,  leaving  the  unfortunate 
birds  to  be  taken  out  by  the  trapper. 

In  a  good  location  a  single  pen  would  furnish 
one  hundred  or  more  ttirkevs  during  a  winter. 

*j  O 

One  year,  J.  J.  Audubon  kept  an  account  of  the 


192  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

produce  of  a  pen  which  lie  visited  daily  and 
found  that  seventy-six  had  been  caught  in  it,  in 
about  two  months.  Seven  was  the  highest  num- 
ber he  had  ever  succeeded  in  taking  from  a  pen 
at  one  time,  but  knew  of  as  many  as  eighteen 
being  captured  by  others.  The  average  success 
of  a  pen,  per  capture,  ranged  from  four  to  five. 
The  writer  has  known  fifteen  to  be  the  fruits  of 
the  first  visit,  and  no  more  caught  that  season. 

To  make  the  pen  a  success,  required  great  care 
and  attention.  The  timber  necessary  for  the  con- 
struction was  gathered  from  windfalls  showing 
woodland  decay  ;  any  marks  of  the  axe,  or  civili- 
zation were  considered  objectionable.  The  earth 
taken  out  to  make  the  trench,  leading  to  and  into 
the  pen,  was  carefully  removed  to  other  parts  ; 
old  leaves  were  thrown  into  the  trend)  and  about 
the  pen,  making  every  thing  in  the  vicinity  look 
ancient  and  accidental. 

In  many  settlements  the  success  of  trapping 
pens  was  of  short  duration.  As  the  country 
soon  furnished  easy  access  of  the  birds  to  large 
fields  of  their  favorite  food,  they  no  longer  could 
be  induced  to  enter  the  baited  pens.  Notwith- 
standing the  number  captured  by  means  of  pens 
— "slaughtered  by  moonlight'' — "by  baiting" — 
"by  treeing  with  clogs,''  turkeys  remained  quite 
plentiful  for  more  than  sixty  years  after  the 
settlement  of  Ohio.  They  were  to  be  found  in 
the  woodlands  all  over  the  state,  and  for  half  a 
century  remained  the  king-bird  of  the  sports- 


BEASTS,    BIRDS    AND    TREES,    ETC.  193 

man.  When  frightened,  he  seeks  cover  and  lies 
well  to  a  point.  Early  in  the  morning  is  the 
most  propitious  time  to  find  him.  When  a  flock 
is  flushed  and  frightened  by  the  rapid  motions  of 
a  dog,  some  will  fly  and  others  run  in  the  di- 
rection of  security  and  cover  ;  it  may  be  a  mile 
or  more  distant,  and  if  so  the  sportsman  will 
most  surely  pick  up  a  straggler  or  two  on  his  way, 
if  he  and  his  dog  understand  their  business. 

If  any  have  taken  to  the  trees,  it  will  be  lost 
time  to  look  after  them — they  have  made  another 
fly  in  the  direction  taken  by  the  leaders,  who 
prefer  the  use  of  feet  to  wings.  The  dog  must 
now  keep  close  to  his  master,  who  moves  so 
cautiously  and  quietly,  that  he  talks  to  his  com- 
panion by  signs  and  motions  altogether.  The 
birds  are  so  wonderfully  fearful  of  a  dog,  and 
are  now  so  frightened  that  some,  while  on  the 
way  to  the  place  of  refuge,  will  drop  down  in 
a  secure  looking  spot  to  regain  composure  or  to 
await  till  all  is  quiet.  It  is  these  the  sportsman 
is  after.  Old  logs,  fallen  tree-tops,  piles  of  old 
brush,  blackened  limbs,  tufts  of  weeds  and  spots 
of  dead  prairie  grass  grown  in  small  openings 
among  timber,  afford  attractive  points  for  con- 
cealment, and  are  all  remembered  with  reverence 
and  respect  as  monuments  of  departed  birds,  at 
the  death  and  obsequies  of  which  the  writer  had 
been  present. 

The  hunter  must  be  prepared  to  find  a  bird 
17 


194  TIIK    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

anywhere  on  the  lino  of  march.  The  dog  carries 
the  scent  and  his  every  movement  determines  the 
distance  the  birds  are  off.  Now  lie  moves  with 
cat-like  stealth — he  stops  with  tetantic  muscular 
tension,  quivering  in  every  fiber,  stands  elongated 
— a  fixed  immovable  figure — his  marvelous  nose 
has  caught  the  image  and  measured  the  dis- 
tance, which  in  silence  says,  stop  ! — move  not, 
as  eyes  and  nose  direct  to  the  place  some 
twenty  or  thirty  yards  distant.  The  bird  is 
there,  and  the  canine  head  knows  the  result 
of  another  step  in  that  direction — the  hunter 
summoning  all  his  skill  and  coolness,  takes  a 
step  or  two  forward,  and  the  bird  is  flushed,  and 
starts  off  with  the  velocity  of  a  grouse,  testing 
sporting  ability  and  rapidity  of  motion  that  re- 
wards in  hearing  the  monster  fall ;  and  a  second 
later  the  quiet  salute  by  the  faithful  and  well-trained 
dog,  showing  he  is  elated  equally  with  his  master. 
Quite  often  a  turkey  will  carry  a  mortal  charge 
a  long  distance  and  drop  dead.  Remains  of  dead 
birds  are  so  frequently  found  during  the  hunting 
season,  that  there  can  be  but  little  doubt  many 
shot  at  and  get  away,  die  from  their  wounds. 
And  the  hunter  should  not  dispair  of  success  if 
his  shot  on  the  wing  does  not  come  to  the  ground 
immediately.  Instances  in  great  numbers  are 
before  the  writer,  some  of  which  are  marked 
by  more  than  ordinary  singularity,  where  the 
recovery  of  the  bird  has  taken  place,  quite  un- 
expectedly, after  a  pronounced  miss,  One  bitter 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND  TREES,   ETC.  195 

cold  afternoon,  while  out  with  a  friend,  who 
shot  at  a  bird  as  it  was  flying  through  the  timber  ; 
it  continued  on  its  course  and  was  observed  for  a 
long  distance  to  fly  naturally  but  to  go  down 
too  abruptly.  The  locality  where  observation 
ended  was  hunted  closely  and  easily,  as  there 
was  a  crusted  snow  on  the  ground,  but  without 
finding  as  much  as  a  feather.  As  we  were  re- 
turning, and  within  a  few  rods  of  the  spot  where 
the  bird  we  had  been  searching  for  was  shot  at, 
another  turkey  came  sailing  over  with  tremendous 
velocity,  going  in  the  direction  taken  by  the  first 
one.  It  was  given  a  barrel  loaded  with  Ely's  Green 
Cartridge,  No.  5  shot.  The  bird  went  on  and 
down,  but  this  time  we  marked  the  locality  more 
accurately  and  were  soon  at  the  place  and  found 
two  turkeys,  dead  and  warm,  within  a  few  feet 
of  each  other.  Some  years  before  this,  while 
standing  in  a  little  opening,  early  in  the  morning, 
listening  for  turkey  sounds,  the  report  of  a  gun 
was  heard  near  half  a  mile  distant,  and  in  a  mo- 
ment a  large  gobbler  fell  dead  at  the  writer's 
feet. 

While  out  with  two  young  dogs,  a  bird  was 
flushed  on  the  bank  of  the  Scioto  river,  and  re- 
ceived a  shot  when  near  the  opposite  side,  which 
so  injured  and  confused  him  that  he  came  back 
and  fell  upon  the  side  of  the  stream  from  which 
he  started.  The  heavy  body  came  down  with  a 
thug,  close  to  the  shore,  among  some  weeds  and 
bushes  near  a  large  pile  of  drift-wood.  The 


190  THK    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

dogs  were  at  the  place  in  quick  time,  but  could 
find  no  turkey.  Thinking  it  had  crawled  into 
the  drift,  we  tried  to  have  the  dogs  hunt  the  drift. 
But  they  knew  better  and  took  no  heart  in  spend- 
ing time  at  that  point,  and  required  constant  re- 
straint to  prevent  them  from  taking  the  forest. 
After  an  ineffectual  examination  of  the  cover  af- 
forded by  the  drift,  the  superior  judgment  of 
the  dogs  was  taken,  and  with  management,  their 
noses  kept  the  course  of  this  wounded  bird  and 
followed  his  meanderings  one  and  a  half  miles  in 
an  air  line  from  the  drift  to  the  point  where  they 
came  to  the  bird  on  a  stand.  Walking  up,  expect- 
ing a  flush,  I  was  surprised  to  find  a  dead  turkey, 
warm,  muddy,  and  wet  with  the  dew  of  the 
morning. 

While  it  is  quite  common  for  a  turkey,  when 
mortally  wounded,  to  continue  his  flight  consid- 
erable distances  before  falling,  and  equally,  if  not 
more  so,  to  fall  dead  at  once  from  the  shot,  it  is 
not  often  one  will,  while  on  the  wing  making  his 
escape,  change  his  course  of  conduct  and  come 
down  and  give  himself  up  without  being  touched 
by  shell  or  shot.  Still,  it  is  not  impossible,  for 
lie  has  been  known  to  do  so.  but  not,  perhaps,  for 
the  reason  said  to  be  entertained  by  Captain 
Scott's  coon. 

One  still,  warm  afternoon  in  December,  1860, 
with  dog,  the  writer  visited  the  "Fenced-in  Wil- 
derness.'' On  arrival  in  the  woods  a  concealed 
position  was  selected  and  the  dog  sent  out  to  look 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  197 

up  the  birds.  Soon  a  large  male  bird  came  so 
near,  on  foot  and  unseen,  that  he  scented  the 
hunter,  and  rose  -within  less  than  twenty  yards 

v      v 

of  the  writer,  who  fired  after  him  one  of 
Ely's  green  wire  cartridges,  one  and  a  half 
ounces  No.  5  shot,  driven  by  three  drachms 
of  Hazard's  electric  powder.  The  bird  was  up 
in  the  air  about  thirty  feet,  going  off  directly  in 
line  with  the  shot.  When  the  gun  reported  the 
turkey  did  not  limber  nor  tumble  like  a  bird  shot, 
but  came  down  precisely  like  a  paper  kite — full 
spread  of  wings  and  tail,  with  outstretched  neck 
and  legs.  When  the  writer  came  up  he  was  lying 
upon  the  ground,  spread  out  like  a  bat,  and  the 
captor  placed  one  foot  and  weight  of  the  body 
on  his  neck,  and  commenced  reloading  the  empty 
barrel.  Before  this  was  half  accomplished  it  be- 
came necessary  to  suspend  reloading  and  attend 
to  the  customer  by  changing  his  neck  from  the 
foot  to  the  hand,  in  order  to  keep  him  long 
enough  to  cut  his  throat.  During  the  time  re- 
quired to  open  the  knife  and  perform  this  little 
surgical  operation  he  used  his  legs  and  toe- 
nails  most  vigorously  and  effectively,  and  the 
operator  came  out  of  the  fray  bleeding  and  lacer- 
ated, with  loss  of  the  greater  portion  of  coat, 
vest,  shirt  and  pants.  The  wounds,  however  se- 
vere, were  as  nothing  compared  with  the  knowl- 
edge demonstration  revealed — that  this  turkey 
was  knocked  down  by  the  generation  of  some 
force,  without  making  a  scar,  mark,  or  sign  of 


108  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

traumatism,  external  or  internal.  A  critical  ex- 
amination revealed  no  injury  whatever,  except 
the  cut  made  by  the  knife.  The  explanation  is 
for  the  scientist. 

It  requires  a  good  gun,  a  good  load  and  a  good 
shot  to  bring  down  a  full-grown,  well-feathered 
turkey.  Seldom  they  rise  short  of  thirty  yards 
distant;  then,  by  the  powerful  motor  assistance 
of  the  legs  at  the  start,  the  next  thirty  yards  are 
made  with  such  velocity  that  by  the  time  the  gun- 
ner has  "spoken  his  piece,"  the  bird  is  off  so  far 
that  loose  No.  5  shot  and  a  fair  charge  of  powder 
will  not  be  effective  unless  by  mere  accident.  This 
became  manifest  at  the  beginning  of  the  Fifties. 
Having  flushed  a  very  large  flock  of  turkeys  near 
town  by  means  of  a  little  cocker,  that  made  a 
terrible  ado  after  them  in  the  standing  cornstalks, 
near  the  Scioto  river — after  hunting  them  un- 
successfully in  the  timber,  a  strip  of  praire  grass 
was  entered,  full  of  "nigger-heads,"  extending 
parallel  with  the  river  for  a  full  half-mile.  The 
grass  was  tall,  and  the  free/ing  weather  had 
stiffened  the  ground  and  frozen  over  the  pools,  so 
it  could  be  walked  over  with  safety.  As  the 
grass  was  entered  the  little  dog  became  invisible  ; 
but  it  was  soon  discovered  where  he  was  by  the 
flight  of  a  turkey  out  of  range,  and  before  the 
cocker  could  be  brought  under  control  he  flushed 
several  more.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before 
a  good  winsj  shot  was  obtained,  and  the  writer 

O  ~ 

started  home  witli  a  load.      This  success  and  the 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  199 

close  proximity  to  town  induced  a  number  of  ama- 
teur gunners  to  try  their  luck,  and  they  were  di- 
rected to  the  locality  ;  for  it  was  certain,  if  the  tur- 
keys were  concealed  in  the  grass,  they  would  re- 
main there  if  undisturbed  until  their  time  for  mov- 
ing— the  dusk  of  evening. 

From  what  was  subsequently  known,  it  would 
appear  that  the  whole  flock,  consisting  of  forty 
or  fifty  birds,  still  frightened,  had  found  their 
way  back  to  this  place  of  security  and  conceal- 
ment, and,  without  the  aid  of  dogs,  were  walked 
up  and  shot  at  by  the  party,  but  without  captur- 
ing a  single  bird. 

The  hunters  returned  with  sorrow  and  disap- 
pointment. One  of  their  number,  a  prominent 
lawyer  and  ex-member  of  Congress,  came  in  with 

«/  o  ' 

the  loss  of  one  eye  and  otherwise  disfigured  for 
life  by  the  explosion  of  his  gun. 

At  the  close  of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  a 
large  amount  of  uncultivated,  wild  land,  owned 
by  non-residents,  was  sold  in  small  farms  to  set- 
tlers ;  and  a  general  disposition  prevailed,  from 
high  prices  of  produce,  to  improve  much  of  the 
better  class  of  timber  lands  every-where,  under- 
brushing  for  pasture,  or  deadening  the  large  tim- 
ber for  corn,  and  this  had  some  influence  in  de- 
cimating game.  Still  the  game  resorts,  unin- 
habitable in  this  way,  amounted  to  little  compared 
with  influence  and  facilities  increased  railroads 
gave  the  pot-hunter  to  go  on  with  his  work  of 
extermination  in  those  mammoth  parks  of  forests 


200  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

in  the  eastern  and  southern  borders  of  the  state, 
where  the  deer,  turkey,  grouse,  and  wild-pigeon 
should  have  found  protection  and  a  home  to  the 
end  of  time. 

And  with  a  diversified  and  wild  section  of  coun- 
try large  enough  to  accommodate  and  furnish  an- 
nually thousands  of  game,  beasts,  and  birds,  some 
are  entirely  extinct,  and  others  scarcely  known 
within  the  limits  of  the  state.  Such  destruction  is 
truly  an  injustice  to  a  beneficent  creator  that  fed  the 
hungry,  clothed  the  naked,  made  pioneer  homes 
happy  and  a  savage  wilderness  a  desirable  habi- 
tation for  the  pilgrims  of  a  better  civilization. 

It  is  more  to  be  regretted  that  in  the  general 
destruction  the  grandest  bird  in  the  world— in- 
diginous  alone  to  America — and  whose  love  for 
''liberty"  exceeds  all  other  species,  should  be 
denied  room  enough  among  a  liberty-loving 
people  for  a  home.  It  seems  a  pity  Benjamin 
Franklin  had  not  been  more  than  ''half  in  earn- 
est" when  he  suggested  this  bird  as  the  emblem 
of  our  national  independence.  But  as  it  is,  in 
other  ways  he  has  advanced  civilization  and 
been  a  benefactor  to  the  human  race.  His  sur- 
passing size,  tender,  juicy,  and  gamey-flavored 
flesh,  places  him  far  above  all  other  gallinaceous 
birds  ;  and  his  goodness  and  greatness  are  known 
over  the  world,  and  those  who  occupy  his  native 
country  have  secured  for  his  name  a  place  among 
the  saints,  to  be  chanted  annually  on  a  day  set 
apart  for  thanksgiving  and  praise. 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC. 

Railroad  facilities  enabled  pot-hunters  to  flood 
the  country,  to  shoot  for  eastern  saloons  and 
cold-storage  houses,  until  the  rapid  decimation 
of  valuable  game  gave  reasons  for  serious  appre- 
hension that  both  birds  and  beasts  will  become 
exterminated  or  taken  from  the  sources  of  food 
supply.  An  annual  depletion  of  the  quantity  of 
game  in  a  given  locality  is  generally  borne  well, 
and  is,  to  a  limited  extent,  beneficial.  They 
usually  stand  assessments  of  numbers  much  bet- 
ter than  encroachments  upon  their  borders.  And 
it  is  sometimes  singular  where  they  all  go  to, 
when  the  woods  in  which  they  have  always  lived 
become  cleared  up,  so  they  are  obliged  to  trans- 
fer their  possessions.  An  estate  in  the  Military  Dis- 
trict, consisting  of  two  thousand  acres,  remained 
wild  until  1862.  The  agent  at  this  date  had  the 
land  cleared  of  the  young  growth  of  trees  and 
bushes  and  put  in  grass. 

Two  years  after,  while  riding  along  a  road 
that  led  through  this  piece  of  timber,  the  writer 
saw  a  stately  wild  turkey,  with  head  erect  and 
measured  steps,  marching  through  the  open  tim- 
ber, occasionally  stopping,  as  though  looking 
and  listening  for  former  companions.  On  the 
same  road,  after  several  hours,  we  again  saw  the 
disappointed  bird  on  his  way  back  to  tell  the  sad 
story. 

The  wild  turkey  is  now  exterminated  in  Ohio, 
and  the  indications  are  he  will  soon  be  as  little 
known  as  the  Dodo.  During  his  stay  in  the 


202  THE   SQUIRREL  HUNTERS. 

aid  and  interests  of  civilization,  thousands  of 
Squirrel  Hunters  were  made  happy,  and  for 
nearly  three  hundred  years  he  has  been  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  feast  with  all  the  compliments 
bestowed  upon  him  in  1621  by  Priscilla  Holmes  : 
"The  foremost  of  all  delicacies — roast  turkey- 
dressed  with,  beech-nuts/' 

The  quail,  another  valuable  game  bird,  has, 
until  within  a  few  years,  been  an  abundant,  per- 
manent resident  of  the  state.  It  is  scarcely  nec- 
essary to  say  a  word  in  his  praise,  for  Bob  White 
is  a  smart  little  fellow,  an  early  riser,  and  worth 
millions  to  agricultural  interests  while  living,  and 
unequaled  on  toast  when  dead. 

At  the  date  of  the  first  settlements  in  the  terri- 
tory the  bird  was  undoubtedly  very  retired,  as 
well  as  few  in  number.  The  extensive  and  dense 
forests,  covering  almost  the  entire  country,  made 
it  ill  adapted  to  his  nature  ;  and  those  which  were 
enabled  to  perpetuate  existence  occupied  some  of 
the  limited  open  tracts  of  land  found  here  and 
there  over  the  country.  Bob  White  is  really  a 
bird  of  civilization.  He  flourishes  most  near  the 
abodes  of  man.  The  cultivation  of  the  soil  and 
settlement  of  the  country  increases  his  numbers. 
In  support  of  these  conclusions  we  will  here  refer 
to  the  fact  contained  in  a  statement  made  by  a 
gentleman  who,  with  family,  settled  in  Ohio  in 
the  spring  of  1798,  and  located  on  the  border  of 
a  small  prairie — seemingly  a  favorable  situation 
for  the  bird.  He  resided  several  years  in  that 


KKASTS,   BIRDS.   AND    TREES,   ETC.  '203 

locality,  raising  wheat,  corn,  and  other  kinds  of 
produce,  without  hearing  the  voice  of  the  quail. 
He  had  about  abandoned  the  anticipation  of  quail 
shooting,  and  questioned  if  it  would  ever  be  rec- 
ognized as  a  sport  in  Ohio. 

One  day  in  early  summer  of  1802  he  thought- 
he  heard  the  recognized  though  suppressed  sound, 
''Bob  White."  Somewhat  doubting  the  sense  of 
hearing,  he  immediately  made  observations  and 
procured  additional  evidence  —  that  of  sight. 
Yes,  he  actually  heard  and  saw  the  bird  for  the 
first  time  in  Ohio.  Elated  with  the  good  news, 
he  proceeded  to  the  cabin  and  told  his  discovery 
with  so  much  excitement  and  enthusiasm  that  it 
created  a  laugh  at  his  expense.  He  excused  his 
manner,  however,  by  saying,  "It  was  sufficient 
to  excite  any  one  to  know  that  a  highly-esteemed 
and  familiar  friend  had  found  the  way  through 
such  an  interminable  wilderness,  and  announced 
his  arrival  in  that  modest  and  meaning  way, 
'Bob  White.'  '  Since  then  he  has  been  known  as 
a  permanent  resident. 

The  greater  portion  of  the  year  the  old  birds, 
with  the  family  increase,  remain  in  coveys.  In 
ea,rly  spring  this  general  attachment  is  broken 
up  by  pairing,  each  pair  selecting  a  locality, 
where  they  remain  during  the  breeding  season. 
When  mating  and  selection  of  locality  has  taken 
place,  it  is  known  by  the  demonstration  of  the 
male,  who  gives  the  whole  neighborhood  due  no- 
tice of  his  domestic  intentions  by  frequent  repe- 


204  THE    SQl'IKKEL    HUNTERS. 

titions  of  his  cheerful  and  well-known  notes, 
"Bob  White!  Bob  White!" 

When  paired  the  two  are  constant  companions, 
ever  watchful  and  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  each 
other,  sharing  equally  the  duties  and  responsi- 
bilities of  wedded  life  ;  and  from  the  appearance 
of  the  first  offspring  to  their  settlement  in  the 
world,  as  faithful  father  and  mother,  remain  un- 
ceasing protectors  and  providers  for  the  family. 
This  extraordinary  strength  of  attachment  and 
exhibition  of  natural  affection  has  attracted  the 
attention  of  all  their  friends. 

While  living  on  a  farm  the  writer  discovered  a 
nest,  nicely  concealed  by  tufts  of  grass  after  be- 
ing constructed,  under  the  projecting  end  of  a 
fence  rail.  At  the  time  there  were  in  it  five  eggs. 
This  number  increased  daily  until  twenty-three 
eggs  filled  the  nest,  and  incubation  began.  All 
went  on  happily,  until  one  morning  there  was 
evidently  great  distress  in  that  little  household. 
The  male  bird  was  sounding  his  anxious  alarm — 
going  hurriedly  from  one  part  of  the  farm  to  that 
of  every  other — sometimes  flying,  sometimes  run- 
ning ;  stopping  a  moment  here,  a  moment  there  ; 
calling  at  the  top  of  his  voice  for  his  mate,  in  his 
peculiar  tone  of  distress.  His  unanswered  cry 
soon  told  the  tale — some  accident,  some  ruthless 
hawk,  some  sneaking  cat,  or  some  other  enemy, 
had  captured  and  destroyed  his  faithful  com- 
panion. 

He  kept  up  his  calling  for  several  hours,  some- 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,   AND    TRKKS,    ETC.  205 

times  coming  quite  near,  making  a  low  cluttering 
noise,  as  if  suspicious  something  could  be  told — 
that  the  writer  could  tell  him  where  his  love  had 
gone.  Far  from  it,  he  too  was  in  search  of  any- 
thing that  could  give  a  clue  to  the  whereabouts 
of  the  unfeeling  wretch  that  had  done  the  bloody 
deed — he  too  was  excited,  and  would  have  exe- 
cuted the  severest  penalty  known  on  the  guilty 
one,  if  found. 

The  nest  was  occasionally  observed  during  the 
forenoon,  with  merely  the  thought  she  might  be 
testing  the  affection  of  her  lord,  or  playing  him 
a  practical  joke  ;  but  no,  the  eggs  were,  at  each 
visit  uncovered.  About  noon-day,  his  lamenta- 
tions ceased,  and  hoping  his  mate  had  returned, 
the  nest  was  again  visited,  and  was  surprised  to 
find  Bob  on  the  nest,  keeping  life  in  the  pros- 
pective family. 

For  several  days  he  left  the  nest  frequently  to 
make  further  search  for  his  missing  sweetheart. 
One  morning,  as  usual,  I  called  to  see  how  the 
little  widower  was  getting  along,  and  found 
nothing  but  a  bundle  of  shells — everv  egg  had 

v  OO 

been  hatched.  Not  far  from  the  nest  was  heard 
a  crickety  sound — "chit,  chit,  chit" — and  soon 
discovered  Bob  with  his  brood.  He  continued  to 
care  for  the  motherless  young,  as  the  writer  can 
testify  from  frequent  meetings,  and  reared  a  fine, 
large  covey,  which  received  protection  and  sym- 
pathy during  the  following  fall  and  winter,  of 


THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

all   the   farm  hands    and   sportsmen,   who   knew 
him  and  his  well-behaving  family. 

Quail  are  not  strictly  granivorous.  In  autumn 
and  winter  they  subsist  chiefly  on  grain,  berries 
and  weed  seeds.  But  in  the  spring  and  summer 
their  food  is  almost  exclusively  composed  of 
worms  and  insects.  While  Henry  William  Her- 
bert extols  the  benefits  the  agriculturist  derives 
from  the  consumption  of  weed  seeds  by  these 
birds,  he  does  not  seem  to  have  been  aware  the 
quail  is  the  greatest  worm  and  insect  enemy  of 
all  the  birds  of  North  America,  and  are  of  more 
valuable  service  to  crops  and  trees  than  all  other 
birds  combined.  A  few  coveys  carefully  pre- 
served would  protect  the  farmer  against  the 
ravages  of  many  destructive  insects,  which  are 
more  to  be  feared  than  the  '"rag-weed,  the  dock, 
or  the  brier."'  The  writer  examined  one  acci- 
dentally killed,  several  years  ago,  in  the  month 
of  June,  and  its  crop  contained  seventy-five 
"potatoe-bugs,"  besides  numerous  smaller  insects. 
And,  if  for  no  other  reason,  the  farmer  should 
protect  the  bird  as  his  best  and  most  reliable  ex- 
terminator of  worms  and  insects,  which,  if  un- 
disturbed, accumulate  to  the  great  detriment  of 
growing  grain  and  grass,  and  to  orchards  and 
gardens.  The  quail  regards  man  as  his  friend, 
though  a  stranger  to  his  sympathy  and  protec- 
tion. If  not  for  ill-treatment  and  general  mani- 
festation to  exterminate  his  species  by  those 
whose  friendship  he  courts,  he  would  soon  be- 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  207 

come  quite  as  domestic  as  the  barnyard  poultry. 
In  fact,  lie  frequently  presses  his  claims  perse- 
veringly  in  this  line  by  establishing  partnership 
and  social  relations  with  domestic  fowls.  It  is 
not  uncommon  to  find  a  hen  and  quail  occupying 
the  same  nest,  until  the  complement  of  eggs  are 
deposited  by  each,  at  the  end  of  which  time  the 
quail  usually  submits  the  incubation  to  her 
partner. 

Quail  are  pursued  by  man,  beast,  bird,  and  rep- 
tile ;  but  with  a  fair  opportunity  and  timely 
warning  they  manifest  a  wonperful  faculty  for 
evading  their  foes;  and,  excepting  the  ''pot- 
hunter," they  are  provided  with  ample  means 
for  self-preservation.  He  who  steals  upon  a 
covey  while  enjoying  the  sunshine  by  some 
stump,  log,  or  fence-corner,  seated  in  a  space  less 
than  the  circumference  of  a  half-bushel  meas- 
ure, and  betrays  a  confidence  by  firing  upon 
them  in  this  unsuspecting  attitude,  filling  his 
bag  with  the  dead,  and  marching  off  with  the 
brand  of  "sneak-thief"  upon  his  brow,  is  a  "pot- 
hunter." He,  too,  who,  with  a  show  of  indif- 
ference, rides  about,  pretending  to  be  overseeing 
his  own  affairs,  whistling  around  until  the  poor 
unsuspecting  birds,  in  order  to  get  out  of  his 
way,  unconsciously  walk  into  a  net  prepared  for 
them,  and  as  a  reward  for  this  confiding  friend- 

o 

ship  triumphantly  mashes  their  heads,  is  a  pot- 
hunter. Against  such  the  bird  has  no  pro- 
tection. 


208  THK    SQUIRRKL    HUNTERS. 

When  coveys  have  warning  of  danger,  and 
wish  to  evade  detection,  they  will  conceal  them- 
selves from  their  enemies,  in  a  most  magical 
manner,  by  a  singular  concerted  action,  seem- 
ingly, withholding  their  "scent,"  so  it  is  often 
impossible  for  the  best  dogs  to  detect  them,  even 
in  the  most  favorable  cover.  It  is  quite  amusing 
to  witness  the  changes  that  come  over  the  ama- 
teur sportsman  when  he  fails  to  put  up  his  birds. 
He  knows  where  they  are,  at  least  he  thinks  he 
does,  for  he  "marked  them  down"  in  the  meadow 
of  short  grass  within  a  few  yards  of  a  stump  or 
tree.  Then,  it  is  such  a  commentary  on  his 
dogs,  for  he  knows  they  are  all  right — never  bet- 
ter, truer  noses  ;  still  they  go  over  and  over,  round 
and  round,  without  winding  a  bird,  or  coming  to 
a  point.  There  !  that  dog  has  flushed  a  bird  ! 
Now  he  is  assured  the  whole  cove}"  are  within 
twenty  feet  of  that  spot  ;  and  he  renews  his 
search,  and  keeps  his  dogs  going  over  and  over 
the  same  locality,  until  both  dogs  and  gunner, 
disgusted,  quit  the  place. 

How  they  got  away,  and  where  they  all  went 
to,  and  why  that  single  bird  remained  where  the 
covey  went  down,  and  why  the  dogs  did  not  point 
that  bird,  all  passed  through  the  mind  of  the 
hunter,  as  he  marched  on  in  search  of  better 
luck. 

The  amateur  perhaps  meets  his  experienced 
friend,  to  whom  he  relates  his  disappointment, 
and  who  in  reply  proposes  to  return  to  the 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  209 

meadow  of  the  "marked  down"  covey.  After 
a  time  they  do  so,  and  every  dog  at  once  winds 
his  bird ;  and  each  come  to  point — these  are 
flushed  and  shot  at.  The  dogs  are  made  to  move 
cautiously,  and  again  the  trio  stand,  each  having 
a  bird  under  point.  This  is  repeated  until  every 
bird  has  gone  the  gauntlet. 

Quail  shooting  has  been,  but  is  no  longer,  an 
interesting  field  sport  in  Ohio.  Wing  shooting, 
while  diminishing  the  aggregate  number,  by 
subtracting  from  each  covey,  does  not  often  de- 
stroy the  entire  family,  and  under  proper  legis- 
lation, has  its  benefits  and  advantages,  and 
generally  insures  the  preservation  of  an  abund- 
ance to  propagate  another  season.  The  sport, 
also,  to  some  exteni,  draws  from  the  destructive 
spoils  of  the  pot-hunter  and  trapper,  making  the 
birds  coy,  suspicious  and  not  easily  seen.  True, 
there  is  a  possibility  that  the  sportsman  with  dog 
and  gun  may  destroy  a  whole  family  by  shooting 
on  the  wing.  A  chapter  of  this  kind  occurred 
to  the  writer.  While  riding  along  the  road  in  a 
buggy  with  a  friend,  our  pointer  companion  came 
to  a  stand  some  distance  in  front,  with  nose  and 
tail  paralleled  to  the  line  of  fence.  The  birds  rose 
by  concert  in  line  along  the  fence,  while  the  rear 
bird,  or  first  to  rise  was  covered  and  fired  at. 
The  atmosphere  was  so  the  smoke  obscured  re- 
sults, excepting  that  of  a  wounded  bird  crossing 
the  road  for  a  sorghum  field.  An  effort  was  made 
18 


210  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

to  intercept  and  capture  it,  but  failed.  The 
friend  who  sat  in  the  buggy  and  had  a  good  view 
of  the  situation,  declared  every  bird  fell.  A 
walk  over  the  ground  proved  it  true,  as  from  the 
first  to  the  last  in  the  distance  of  about  twenty 
yards  or  more,  eleven  dead  birds  were  picked  up. 
The  next  day  on  passing  the  spot,  the  dog  came 
to  a  point  on  a  wounded  bird,  which  was  cap- 
tured and  killed  as  a  kindness.  Here  the  whole 
covey  Avas  exterminated  ;  but  as  the  perpetrator 
felt  "sorry"  for  the  act,  and  did  not  intend  it, 
and  would  never  do  it  again,  it  should  not  be 
considered  unpardonable. 

The  quail  is  a  bird  favorable  to  the  happiness 
of  man  and  advancement  of  civilization,  is  of  in- 
estimable value  as  a  permanent  resident,  for  the 
reason  he  is  independent  of  forests  for  the  main- 
tenance of  existence  and  perpetuation.  He 
is  the  bird  of  field  and  farm  and  the  only 
one  from  which  a  single  pair  can  produce  and 
rear  to  maturity  more  than  half  a  hundred  young 
in  one  season,  to  present  as  choice  morsels  of  food 
for  the  weary  farmer  and  protector. 

It  is  comforting  to  the  sportsman  to  feel  as- 
sured there  is  one  resident  game  bird  the  iniquity 
of  the  pot-hunter  can  not  exterminate.  So  long 
as  forests  and  mountains  last,  the  Ruffed  Grouse 
will  be  able  to  maintain  an  abiding  place.  And 
many  are  the  pleasant  reminiscences  of  the 
hunter  connected  with  the  pursuit  of  this  wary 
bird  ;  it  is  a  sport  once  enjoyed  can  never  be  lost 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND   TREES,   ETC.  211 

from  among  the  sunny  associations  of  the  past. 
Even  the  name  brings  to  view  the  ragged  moun- 
tains, rocky  ravines,  shady  dells,  babbling  brooks 
and  quiet  streams  in  forests,  ripe  with  every 
shade  and  tint  of  autumn  colors,  quiet  secluded 
places  where  nature  reveals  her  sweetest  charms 
in  inimitable  splendor  that  mocks  the  artist's 
pencil  and  poet's  pen — the  home  and  haunts  of 
this  beautifal  bird. 

It  does  not  seem  reasonable  that  the  indiffer- 
ence of  the  people  should  permit  the  depopula- 
tion of  the  earth  of  all  its  birds  !  It  is  sorrow- 
ful to  contemplate  a  place  where  no  bird  exists 
excepting  the  "English  sparrow. ' '  Of  the  known 
species,  amounting  to  over  five  thousand,  that 
once  glorified  the  life  and  beauty  of  the  earth, 
mo're  than  one-half  the  number  has  already  dis- 
appeared forever. 

The  Chicago  Tribune,  of  August  11,  1895,  on 
the  "Destruction  of  Birds,"  tells  the  truth,  a 
horrible  truth,  when  it  says:  "If  masculine 
greed  and  cruelty,  and  feminine  vanity  and 
thoughtlessness,  are  not  in  some  manner  re- 
strained or  punished,  it  is  only  a  question  of  time, 
and  very  short  time  at  that,  how  soon  the  earth 
will  lose  its  birds."  That  the  Seattle  Argus 
called  attention  to  the  danger  of  the  utter  ex- 
termination af  game  birds  by  the  destruction  of 
their  eggs  on  the  Alaska  breeding  grounds — 
ducks,  geese,  swans,  and  other  migratory  birds, 
seek  the  low  lands  along  the  Yukon  river  for 


*l\'l  TIN:   stjriKRKL  nrvrKKs. 

their  nesting  places.  The  egg-hunters  ga 
their  eggs  by  millions  in  these  as  well  as  oilier 
localities  in  South-western  Alaska,  where  the 
birds  resort,  and  sell  them  for  the  purpose  of 
manufacturing  egg  albumen,  a  commercial  arti- 
cle. The  destruction  of  these  millions  of  eggs 
every  spring  and  summer  is  rapidly  reducing 
the  number  of  game  birds,  and  the  flocks 
every  year  grow  smaller  and  smaller.  Sen- 
ator Mitchell,  of  Oregon,  introduced  a  bill  at  the 
last  session  of  Congress  for  the  protection  of  these 
game  birds,  but  of  course  it  did  not  come  to  vote, 
and  it  probably  never  will.  The  game  birds 
will  share  the  fate  of  the  four-footed  game;  grow 
fewer  every  year,  and  finally  disappear  alto- 
gether. 

"  When  one  remembers  that  thirty  years  ago 
the  skies  wen1  almost  darkened  by  flights  of 
pigeons  across  Indiana  and  Illinois,  and  that 
branches  of  trees  were  broken  by  their  weight 
and  numbers,  and  that  the  other  day  a  wild- 
pigeon  shot  in  Southern  Indiana  was  regarded 
as  ran1  a  curiosity  as  a  white  blackbird,  it  can 
be  realized  how  rapidly  game  birds  are  disappear- 
ing. The  game  birds  which  are  not  migratory 
are  also  hunted  down  in  spite  of  game  laws,  and 
every  year  grow  scarcer  and  dearer  in  the  mar- 
kets. If  nothing  is  done  to  protect  (more1  effect- 
ually) there  will  soon  be  an  end  of  game  birds. 
The  greed  of  gain  will  end  their  existence.1' 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,   AND    TREES,    ETC.  213 

Of  all  the  birds  in  Ohio  and  the  North-west, 
the  wild  pigeon  was  by  far  the  most  numerous. 
Those  who  have  witnessed  their  flight,  from  early 
morn  until  approaching  night,  all  going  in  one 
direction,  without  cessation  for  a  number  of  con- 
secutive days,  were  ready  to  believe  pigeons  were 
as  the  sands  of  the  sea,  innumerable,  and  could 
never  be  exhausted.  But,  alas!  inventions  came, 
the  foes  of  bird-life  :  railroads  and  telegraphs. 
And  for  many  years,  winter  and  summer,  the 
pigeon  was  traced,  pursued,  netted  and  trapped, 
at  feeding  places,  by  gangs  of  pot-hunters,  keep- 
ing tons  of  dead  birds  all  the  time  in  transit  to 
the  large  cities.  Year  after  year,  from  coast  to 
coast,  this  bird  was  followed,  invading  the  breed- 
ing places  and  destroying  the  young  and  old, 
until  the  wild  pigeon  now  exists  in  history,  and 
may  be  seen  mounted  by  the  taxidermist. 

The  birds  that  are  not  game,  the  women  in 
their  vanity  and  thoughtlessness  are  rapidly  de- 
stroying those  having  an  attractive  plumage,  and 
millions  of  humming-birds,  orioles,  bluebirds, 
starlings,  indigo-birds,  redstarts,  redbirds,  and 
many  others,  are  annually  slaughtered  to  gratify 
an  inhuman  and  uncivilized  fashion.  For  more 
than  ten  years  this  destruction  has  been  increas- 
ing, and  birds  are  diminishing  in  this  and  other 
countries  until  extermination  is  near  at  hand. 
Jules  Forest  says  of  the  bird  of  paradise  :  "They 
are  so  industriously  hunted  that  the  males  are 
not  permitted  to  reach  full  maturity,  and  the 


214  TIIK    S<jriRKKI,    II  C. \TKKS. 

birds  winch  now  flood  the  market  art'  for  the 
most  part  young  ones,  still  clothed  in  their  tirsi 
plumage,  which  lacks  the  brilliancy  displayed  in 
the  older  bird,  and  are  consequently  of  small 
commercial  value."  As  to  the  tut't  of  delicate 
plumes  which  are  so  much  in  demand  by  milli- 
ners, and  sold  by  them  as  real,  are  often  mixed 
with  ospray  tips,  which,  to  the  shame  of  woman- 
hood, have  so  long  been  in  fashion  and  are  still 
used.  I  may  state  on  trustworthy  authority,  that 
''during  the  last  season  one  warehouse  alone  has 
disposed  of  no  less  than  sixty  thousand  do/en  of 
these  mixed  sprays."  And  the  question  comes  : 
Is  there  no  way  to  stop  it?  Must  bird-slaughter 
go  on  to  gratify  a  weak  and  cruel  vanitv.  that 
should  bo  met  not  onlv  with  public  scorn,  but 
also  by  the  strong  arm  of  the  law.  to  reach  tin- 
possessor  or  the  hat,  as  it  does  the  fisherman  and 
his  net  or  the  hunter  and  his  gun." 

As  the  country  became  partially  settled  and 
the  larger  game  supply  diminished  by  unseason- 
able killing,  clubs  of  squirrel  hunters  organized 
and  laws  were  enacted  protecting  beasts  and 
birds  with  a  close  season.  The  good,  the  social 
and  intelligent,  became  members  for  what  then- 
was  in  it.  These  clubs  entertained  no  secrets. 
and  did  not  pattern  after  any  of  the  ancient  or- 
ders with  which  the  United  State;;  appear  over- 
blessed,  nor  were  they  given  to  boasting  of  their 
pedigrees.  No  one  ever  claimed  King  Solomon 
was  "the  father  and  founder,'  although  he 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  215 

might  have  been  ;  and  members  were  satisfied 
and  sanguine  that  Mr.  Nimrod,  the  mighty 
hunter,  for  a  saint,  was  in  morals  as  good  as  any 
of  them. 

These  clubs  had  also  many  improvements  over 
ordinary  societies.  A  candidate  for  membership 
was  not  obliged  to  ride  a  goat  to  get  in,  nor  with 
bandaged  eyes  go  down  into  a  dangerous  pit  to 
search  for  the  tables  of  stone  that  Moses  brought 
home  the  ten  commandments  on.  Neither  had 
the  clubs  any  use  for  a  catechism  of  secret  signs 
to  let  the  brethren  know  when  a  member  had 
been  guilty  of  something  unwelcome  to  society, 
and  needed  assistance.  They  were  all  Squirrel 
Hunters,  and  members  recognized  each  other  by 
the  absence  of  society  pins  and  want  of  super- 
lative adjectives  at  the  front  end  of  their  names. 
The  only  thing  recorded  in  which  these  clubs  re- 
sembled any  other  order  or  society  was  in  having 
a  great  many  glorious  banquets.  They  culti- 
vated the  social  and  democratic  principles,  owing 
allegiance  nowhere,  to  no  one  or  any  thing,  but 
the  government  and  country  covered  by  the 
American  flag. 

The  objects  of  these  clubs  were  the  study  of 
natural  history  and  to  secure  and  enforce  all 
laws  for  the  preservation  of  game  beasts  and 
birds,  as  well  as  the  summer  songsters  that  give 
life  and  happiness  to  forest  and  field. 

These  clubs  labored  hard  to  enforce  legislative 
enactments  against  pot-hunting  and  thoughtless 


21()  TllK    SljriRRKI,     IIKNTKHS. 

destruction  of  birds,  but  found  it  more  difficult 
to  capture  the  violator  and  public  opinion  than 
to  subdue  British  and  Indians  or  frighten  an 
army.  People  generally  bad  embraced  the  idea, 
that  birds,  beasts  and  trees  could  never  become 
seriouslv  decimated,  and  it  was  useless  to  offer 
them  protection,  which  made  it  troublesome  to 
obtain  a  verdict  against  offenders  by  either  judge 
or  jury.  The  motives  of  such  prosecutions  were 
generally  misconstrued,  or  plaintiffs  made  sub- 
jects of  sport  or  ridicule. 

The  following  is  taken  from  the  records  and 
proceedings  of  one  of  the  earliest  organized  and 
most  worthy  game  clubs  in  Ohio.  It  appears 
the  offender  was  a  lawyer,  who  enjoyed  fine 
grounds  and  an  elegant  garden,  and  amused  him- 
self shooting  little  birds  that  came  to  share  his 
bountv,  or  obtain  a  pittance  bv  way  of  interest 
for  the  good  they  had  by  nature  rendered.  The 
club  gave  the  lawyer  notice  and  request  to  desist 
such  cruelty,  or  it  might  become  necessary  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  officers  of  the  law  to  the 
matter. 

To  this  the  club  received  the  following  reply, 
worth v  of  preservation  for  its  wit,  humor,  and 
literary  ability  : 

"  7 o  X /•,' ,  Secretary  of  Brandt,  Xo.  3,  OJtio 

(i dine  ( 'I nl> : 

"Mr  PKAR  SIR — Your  esteemed  favor  of  yes- 
terday has  been  received,  and  at  an  early  date  I 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  217 

hasten  to  reply,  not  knowing  just  what  punish- 
ment would  await  me  should  I  fail  to  be  prompt 
in  my  responses.  As  to  the  'birds  of  various 
kinds'  of  which  you  speak,  I  move  to  amend  in 
order  to  make  more  specific  and  certain,  by  stat- 
ing what  kind  of  birds,  what  number,  when 
killed,  and  by  what  means.  If  required  to  plead 
to  the  general  charge,  I  would  enter  a  plea  of 
'not  guilty.'  Permit  me  to  say  that  I  only  killed 
birds  of  prey,  and  I  only  pray  that  I  may  kill 
more  of  them.  I  always  bury  all  I  kill  ;  I  berry 
them  before  I  kill  them,  and  bury  them  after- 
wards. 

I  am  exceedingly  sorry  that  my  fancied  mis- 
deeds have  rendered  necessary  a  special  meeting 
of  the  'club/  or  to  have  been  the  innocent  occa- 
sion of  the  least  trouble  to  either  the  officers  or 
members  of  that  useful  and  ornamental  body. 
Be  kind  enough  to  say,  with  my  compliments,  to 
the  association  of  which  you  have  the  honor  to 
be  secretary,  that  the  doors  of  the  Temple  of 
Justice,  like  'the  glorious  gates  of  the  gospel  of 
grace,'  stand  open  night  and  day,  and  the  'club' 
will  please  consider  itself  invited  to  enter  and 
become  'involved  in  the  intricate  meshes  of  the 
law.' 

"Allow  me  further  to  say  that  I  expect  tomor- 
row morning  to  be  on  my  premises,  near  the  city, 
engaged  in  my  usual  and  ordinary  amusement  of 
destroying  birds  of  prey  ;  and  as  it  is  the  'early 
19 


218  THK    S<jriKKKI.     HrNTKKS. 

bird  that  catches  the  worm.'  I  would  suggest  to 
members  of  your  valuable  association,  through 
their  secretary,  that  they  meet  at  an  early  hour, 
say  half-past  five  in  the  morning,  either  at  Dod- 
son's  store  or  at  the  well-known  grocery  stand  of 
John  L.  King,  and  proceed  in  a  body,  in  full  uni- 
form, to  the  premises  alluded  to  in  your  corre- 
spondence. It  might  be  well  to  have  music,  and 
march  to  the  tune  of  'Listen  to  the  Mocking- 
bird,' or  such  other  appropriate  music  as  your 
orchestra  may  select. 

"One  other  suggestion  :  I  am  constitutionally 
and  proverbially  careless  in  the  handling  of  fire- 
arms, and  it  may  be  well  to  make  that  statement 
to  the  members  of  your  organization,  so  that 
should  a  stray  shot  fall  wide  of  the  mark  at 
which  it  was  aimed,  they  may  feel  a  sense  of 
security  behind  such  intrencliments  as  nature  or 
art  shall  have  provided.  Ice-water  and  sponges 
will  be  furnished  free  to  each  and  every  member 
who  attends,  but  no  gin  cocktails  will  be  given. 
"Very  truly  yours,  JI . " 

It  seems  an  unanswered  question,  how  the  na- 
tives preserved  the  forests  from  fires,  and  main- 
tained the  numerical  strength  of  the  species  of 
animals  on  which  they  subsisted.  The  countries 
in  which  Indians  have  been  found  subsisting  by 
hunting,  are  known  to  have  forests  undisturbed 

O  ' 

by  fires  for  thousands  of  years,  and  containing  a 
full  complement  of  all  kinds  of  game  indigenous 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,    ETC.  219 

to  the  locality.  This  country,  at  the  time  sur- 
rendered, was  fully  endowed  with  all  the  gifts  of 
nature.  Lo  had  preserved  the  forests  from  fires, 
protected  the  game  beasts  and  birds,  and  shown 
natural  wisdom  enough  not  to  kill  the  goose  to 
obtain  the  golden  egg. 

How  these  wise  results  were  accomplished  are 
unknown  to  civilization.  But  it  can  be  stated  as 
a  fact,  new  countries  have  never  suffered  from 
forest  fires  or  the  destruction  of  their  game  at 
the  hands  of  the  Indian  hunter.  Even  in  limited 
and  crowded  reservations  he  manages  to  preserve 
the  forests,  and  in  some  way  to  keep  on  hand  a 
supply  of  animals  to  the  full  extent  the  condi- 
tions of  nature  will  admit.  The  instinct  to  kill 
no  more  than  enough  for  present  use,  though  he 
may  suffer  from  hunger  the  next  day,  probably 
has  had  a  favorable  influence  on  game  and  its 
preservation. 

While  practically  a  resident  of  an  unsettled 
Indian  country  (the  northern  portion  of  Iowa  Ter- 
ritory), in  1845,  it  was  noticeable  that  there  ex- 
isted no  lack  of  game,  nor  variety,  although 
pretty  densely  populated  with  WInnebagoes, 
Sioux  and  Fox  Indian,  who  derived  their  meat 
chiefly  from  the  yearly  increase  of  game  fur- 
nished within  a  limited  territory. 

Soon  after  the  close  of  the  treaty  with  those 
tribes,  made  by  General  Dodge  in  the  summer  of 
1845,  at  Fort  Atkinson,  the  writer,  with  a  friend, 
passed  through  the  hunting  grounds  for  more 


220  THK    SQt'IRRKL    HfNTKRS. 

tlian  one  hundred  miles,  and  sa\v  a  number  of 
large  flocks  of  wild  turkey  and  larger  game  in 
abundance.  We  followed  the  deep-cut  channel 
of  the  romantic  Turkey  river  for  sixty  miles  in 
the  Indian  country,  and  during  this  ride  the 
young  birds  were  seen  living  from  bluil'  to  bluff, 
crossing  the  river  on  their  daily  round  in  seach 
of  food. 

And  we  believe  it  is  true:  No  game  laws  en- 
acted by  white  man  can  prove  as  effective  in  the 
protection  of  game  as  those  enforced  by  Indian 
hunters.  The  red  man  never  scares  game  from 
the  region  in  which  he  hunts.  lie  steals  upon  the 
deer  or  wild  "turkeys  with  the  soft  tread  of  moc- 
casined  feet,  and  dressed  in  accord  with  the  tints 
and  tones  of  plain  and  forest,  the  animals  are 
satisfied  with  trying  to  avoid  his  presence  with- 
out quitting  the  region  selected  as  their  home. 

An  old-time  hunter  in  the  West  makes  the 
statement  that  ever  since  the  general  adoption  by 
Indians  of  firearms  for  hunting,  it  has  not  been 
found  that  game  lias  diminished  in  regions  when1 
the  white  man  is  an  infrequent  visitor.  It  is 
when  white  hunters  invade  their  haunts,  with 
the  tread  of  booted  feet,  their  clothes  alien  to  sur- 
rounding nature  and  with  dogs  and  bluster,  that 
all  kinds  of  game1  are  bound  to  be  killed  or  driven 
awav.  And  as  Sir  Samuel  Baker,  the  explorer. 
asserts  of  African  game  and  predatory  creatures  : 
''Animals  can  endure  traps,  pitfalls,  fire,  and 
every  savage  method  of  hunting,  but  firearms 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  221 


Turkey  Rivor,  Iowa,  1845. 


222  TIIK    SCil'IKKKL    llfNTKRS. 

may  he  used  to  clear  them  out  from  extensive 
districts."  Still,  under  prudent  use  known  to 
Indians  only,  game  of  our  forests  and  plains  may 
he  preserved  indefinitely  and  in  abundance  of  all 
kinds. 

TREKS. 

"  Half  the  mifjlity  forest 
Tells  no  tale  of  all  it  does." 

"Individual  avarice  and  corporate  greed  will 
soon  cause  all  the  mineral  lands  to  be  stripped  of 
their  forests.  .  .  .  Wealthy  companies  have 
been  organized,  mills  erected,  and  the  most  valu- 
able timber  accesible  is  being  rapidly  cut  off. 
That  which  is  every  one's  property  is  no  one's  care, 
and  extravagance  and  waste  are  the  natural  con- 
sequence of  negligent  legislation."* 

The  increasing  destruction  of  the  timber  belts 
of  this  country  is  certainly  enough  to  alarm  the 
nation.  The  Census  Office  prepared  for  distribu- 
tion a  bulletin  bearing  upon  this  subject  for  the 
consideration  of  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
The  lumber  production — which  means  tree  de- 
struction— in  Minnesota,  Wisconsin,  and  Michi- 
gan in  the  last  decade1  increased  twenty-nine  per 
cent  in  quantity  and  seventy-live  per  cent  in 
value,  and  according  to  the  eleventh  ( last)  census, 
the  capital  invested  in  the  milling  business  in  the 
three  states  named  shows  an  increase  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-seven  million  live  hundred  and 
thirty-one  thousand  dollars. 

*  Hon.  J.  M.  Husk,  Secretary  Agriculture  Report,  1S.S9. 


BEASTS,     F.IRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  223 

United  States  Senator  Henry  M.  Kice,  who 
spent  considerable  time  in  Northern  Minnesota 
treating  with  the  Indians,  says  :  "This  timber 
cutting  is  going  on  for  fifty  miles  up  the  Baudette, 
North  and  South  Fork  rivers,  and  that  the  In- 
dians declare  that  it  has  been  going  on  for  more 
than  a  dozen  years  by  Canadian  lumbermen." 
It  is  stated  on  good  authority  that  more  than  two 
hundred  million  feet  were  floated  through  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods  in  1894.  And  Senator  Rice 
says:  "So  bold  have  these  timber  robbers  be- 
come that  they  have  built  dams  in  the  tributary 
streams  for  the  purpose  of  backing  up  the  water 
and  floating  out  their  logs." 

When  these  extensive  thieving  operations  were 
conveyed  to  the  authorities,  one  lone  "timber  in- 
spector" was  sent  up  in  this  vast  district  and 
made  his  headquarters  in  the  wilderness  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  from  the  nearest  point  from 
which  he  could  obtain  any  assistance,  and  it  is 
generally  believed,  in  Minnesota,  that  the  "tim- 
ber inspector"  failed  to  "hold  up"  several  thou- 
sand Canadian  robbers,  who  were  engaged  in 
floating  American  timber  across  the  line  and 
filling  their  pockets  with  gold. 

The  Minneapolis  Journal  has  done  much  to 
call  the  attention  of  the  people  of  that  state, 
and  the  Nation,  to  the  unparalleled  destruction  of 
this  greatest  gift  of  nature,  and  quite  recently 
says  : 

20 


*'  TIII-:  sijriKKKi,   IITNTKHS. 

•'The  reservations  which  have  been  ceded  by 
tlie  Chippewas  in  this  state  to  the  government 
embrace  the  heaviest  white  pine  forests  now 
available  as  a  source  of  lumber  supply.  These 
forests  lire  largely  contributory  to  the  retention 
of  the  moisture  whicli  feeds  the  streams  and 
lakes  that  make  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi 
river. 

"Already  there  is  much  said  about  the  great 
commercial  value  of  these  pine  lands,  and  there 
is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that  as  soon  as  the 
region  is  opened  by  the  government  the  work 
of  destruction  will  commence,  which  will  speedily 
lay  bare  the  soil  and  subject  it  to  the  drying  in- 
fluences of  the  sun  and  wind,  or  to  the  forest 
lires,  which  will  kill  every  young  growth  which 
appears,  and  destroy  even  tree  seed,  which  has 
been  borne  there  by  the  winds.  The  result 
of  this  will  be  the  diminution  of  the  sources  of 
the  supply  of  the  Mississippi,  whicli  will  be  felt 
by  every  water  power  company  from  Itasca  to 
Fort  Snelling. 

"These  are  grave  consequences,  and  the  ques- 
tion is:  Shall  the  denudation  of  this  new  region 
be  allowed  to  go  on  without  some  regula- 
tions as  to  cutting  and  forest  renewal?  There 
would  seem  to  be  a  good  opportunity  to  bring  to 
bear  the  world's  experience  in  forestry.  This 
reckless  cutting  and  selling  the  forests  will  bring 
temporary  gain  to  the  lumbermen,  but  will  ulti- 
mately destroy  agriculture  and  water-power  in- 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND   TREES,   ETC.  225 

terests  as  well  as  the  healthful  conditions  of  the 
country. 

"In  France,  whole  communities  were  ruined  by 
the  denudation  of  their  lands  ;  and  obliged  the 
government  to  enter  upon  the  work  of  re- 
stocking this  ruined  section  of  country  with 
young  trees  at  a  cost  of  many  millions  of  dol- 
lars ;  all  to  regain  what  had  been  lost  through 
indifference.  But  how  is  it  now?  The  region  of 
the  Landes,  •which  fifty  years  ago  was  the  aban- 
doned country  of  little  value,  inhabited  by  a  few 
sickly  shepherds,  who  wandered  over  the  country 
with  their  meager  flocks,  is  now  the  most  pros- 
perous part  of  France.  It  has  been  made  so 
by  the  planting  of  forests,  and  has  now  saw- 
mills, charcoal  kilns,  turpentine  works,  thriving 
towns,  and  fertile  agriculural  lands,  and  a  grow- 
ing and  increasing  valuation,  and  the  net  gain 
to  the  government  by  the  expenditure  amounts 
to  over  two  hundred  million  dollars. 

"Not  until  the  sheltering  influence  of  trees  has 
disappeared,  the  climate  made  variable  with 
sharp  and  sudden  changes  of  temperature,  suc- 
cessions of  thaws  and  freezings  ;  not  until  springs 
and  brooks  become  dry  in  summer,  and  a 
failure  of  all  kinds  of  crops  and  plants,  does  the 
improvident  ask  or  even  wonder  what  the  mat- 
ter is. 

"Every  reserve  of  timber  in  tlii*  country  ought  to  be 
sacredly  guarded  by  the  government,  and  timber 
cutting  be  put  under  stringent  regulations,  look- 


226  THE    SQUIRREL    HfNTKRS. 

ing  to  the  continued  protection  of  the  streams. 
Unlcxs  this  /.s-  done  the  Missipippi  river  trill  xurcly 
change  its  character.  It  will  become  a  shallow, 
sluggish  stream,  unable  to  carry  off  impurities, 
and  useless  for  navigation  or  water-power.  It 
will  not  take  very  long  to  effect  this  change,  if 
the  forests  are  destroyed  in  the  northern  part  of 
its  source.  A  present  gain  in  lumber  will  mean 
very  great  injury  to  all  other  material  in- 
terests."* 

A  special  from  St.  Paul  says — "From  Rainy 
Lake  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles,  the  entire  country  is 
covered  with  a  heavy  growth  of  timber  and  is 
mostly  pine,  and  is  totally  uninhabited  save  by 
scattering  bands  of  Chippewa  Indians.  That 
these  t\vo  great  lakes  are  connected  by  Rainy 
Lake  river,  one  of  the  finest  navigable  streams 
in  North  America  ;  and  on  which  its  branches 
and  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  no  less  than  twenty 
steamers  and  tugs  ply  from  early  spring  to  late 
in  the  fall,  conveying  stolen  timber  from  the 
United  States  to  Rat  Portage,  Keewatin,  and  even 
to  Winnipeg,  where  it  is  manufactured  and  sent 
wherever  a  market  can  be  found/' 

"Keewatin  and  Rat  Portage  are  the  centers  of 
the  timber  depredations  and  act  as  a  base  of  sup- 
plies for  the  depredators.  Nearly  all  the  numer- 
ous fleets  of  steamers  plying  on  the  lake  lind 


Minneapolis  Journal. 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  227 

their  home  in  these  two  towns.  The  Dominion 
Government  considers  its  side  of  the  line  import- 
ant enough  to  demand  a  station  at  Hungry  Hall, 
on  the  Canadian  side  of  the  mouth  of  Rainy  Lake 
river,  as  well  as  at  several  other  points  between 
the  Red  river  of  the  North  and  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior,  but  the  United  States  Government, 
though  knowing  the  amount  of  valuable  timber 
in  the  district  desirable,  has  no  port  between  St. 
Vincent  and  Lake  Superior/' 

"When  it  is  realized  that  all  this  timber  be- 
longs to  the  wards  of  the  United  States,  the 
Indians,  or  to  the  Government  itself,  it  is  hard  to 
see  on  what  principle  the  states  can  so  neglect 
this  great  timber  belt.  Not  a  foot  of  this  timber 
can  be  sold  or  in  any  way  disposed  of  until  it  has 
been  appraised  and  surveyed.  And  it  was  asked 
that  the  Minnesota  delegation  in  Congress  take 
steps  at  once  to  have  Congress  pass  a  measure 
authorizing  the  placing  of  a  revenue  cutter  on  the 
Lake  of  the  Woods,  and  equipping  two  posts, 
one  near  Rainy  Lake,  and  the  other  directly 
across  from  Hungry  Hall,  where  one  lone  timber 
inspector  is  supposed  to  be.  But  has  any  thing 
been  done?  The  State  Senatorial  Committee  of 
Minnesota,  in  an  investigation  of  frauds  against 
the  state,  found  the  timber  pirate*  responsible  for 
most  all  the  calamities  from  fire  which  have  be- 
fallen the  timber  lands  of  the  state.  After  steal- 
ing millions  of  dollars  worth  of  timber  belonging 
to  the  state,  in  order  to  cover  the  theft,  have 


TIIK    S<jriKKKL    Ml'NTKKS. 

started  fires  which  have  resulted  in  tliose  terrible 
losses  of  life  and  property.  Firing  the  lands  they 
had  fraudulently  cleared  in  order  to  render  the 
measurement  of  stumpa^e  impossible,  and  there- 
by shut  off'any  suits  a  commission  mi^ht  attempt  to 
hrin<;  against  them.  In  putting  the  torch  to  the 
"toppings,"  every  tiling  is  destroyed — stumps, 
youn^  trees  and  frequently  valuable  timber,  to 
the  amount  of  many  million  dollars." 

In  all  the  pine  belts  in  the  western  country 
there  is  a  loud  demand  by  honest  citi/ens.  that 
the  manner  of  cutting  timber  be  severely  regu- 
lated. It  has  been  clearly  shown  from  time  to 
time  that  this  forest  destruction  in  the  l/nited 
States  without  restitution,  is  still  .u'oini;'  on  at  the 
enormous  rate  of  over  ten  million  acres  annually, 
and  must  soon  land  the  country  in  all  the  ills  due 
to  forest  famine. 

Senator  Paddock,  of  the  Committee4  on  Agri- 
culture and  Forestry,  reports  that  the  1'nited 
States  Government  retains  somewhat  less  than 
seventy  million  acres  of  public  domain,  which 
is  designated  as  timber  or  woodland,  mostly 
situated  on  the  slopes  and  crests  of  the  western 
mountain  ranges.  The  above  estimate  may  be 
too  low.  but  if  not .  the  entire  forests  of  the  ( Joyern- 
ment  art4  scarcely  sufficient  of  themselves  to  sup- 
ply the  vast  demands  of  the  country  another  de- 
cade. 

In  l.SSi).  it  was  estimated  that  Idaho.  Montana, 
and  Wyoming  contained  fifty-three  thousand 


BEASTS,    BIRDS.   AND    TREES.   ETC. 

square  miles  of  forest  — Colorado  and  New  Mexico, 
thirty  thousand  ;  and  that  other  portions  of  the 
public  domain  were  covered  with  large  and  valu- 
able belts,  and  of  which  the  Hon.  Secretary  of 
Agriculture  says  in  his  reports  :  "We  are  wasting 
our  forests,  by  axe,  by  fire,  by  pasturage,  by 
neglect.  They  are  rapidly  falling  below  the 
amount  required  by  industrial  needs,  by  our 
water  supply,  by  our  rivers,  by  our  climate,  by 
our  navigation  and  agriculture.  It  is  high  time 
to  call  a  halt.  The  devastation  of  the  axe  will 
probably  go  on  in  the  forests  owned  by  private 
parties.  Other  forms  of  devastation  can  and  xtioiild 
be  stopped  hi/  rigorous  measures  on  the  part  of  the 
Government." 

11  Our  onh/  hope,"  says  Secretary  Rusk,   "/*  to 

save  what  forests  we  hare  still  in,  public  fiossession, 

.     not  allowing   them   to   be   cut    except    under 

such   conditions  as  will  insure  ample  reproduction." 

Six  years  have  passed  since  the  above  import- 
ant declarations  were  made,  still  nothing  has 
been  done  to  deter  the  thieves  or  ward  off  a 
pending  calamity. 

For  future  forest  supplies  the  people  of  the 
United  States  must  look  to  the  general  govern- 
ment which  controls  the  national  domain,  holds 
the  keys  of  the  public  treasury,  and  is  responsible 
for  this  source  of  national  wealth. 

From  various  authentic  sources,  it  is  stated  of 
the  once-timbered  countries  in  Southern  Europe, 
Northern  Africa  and  from  the  Russian  Empire  to 


THI-;    SOJ'IRRKL    Iir.XTKRS. 

South  India,  which  are  now  uninhabited  barren 
wastes,  has  been  due  to  changes  of  climate,  soil 
and  water-fall,  from  the  loss  of  forests.  The 
once  fertile  valleys  of  Syria,  with  springs  and 
brooks,  and  fields  of  grain  and  grass,  are  as 
parched  and  dry.  and  water  as  scarce  as  it  is  on 
the  desert  or  staked  plains — summer  suns  have 
scorched  the  unprotected  soil — hot  winds  absorbed 
the  last  vestige  of  moisture — the  air  is  filled  with 
clouds  of  loose  dust,  and  the  naked  mountains 
stand  as  monuments  of  departed  glory,  of  the 
Koman  provinces  from  the  Caucasus  to  the 
archipelago. 

Look  at  the  wasted  peninsulas  of  Southern 
Europe.  What  lias  reduced  to  skeletons  the  in- 
habitants of  the  garden  lands  of  the  nations  of 
classic  antiquity?  Greece  has  become  a  barren 
rock,  and  Sicily,  "the  pearl  of  the  Mediterra- 
nean,'' a  hospital  of  famine,  typhus  and  puru- 
lent ophthalmia  ! 

Has  not  the  desolation  in  each  been  due  to 
one  and  the  same  cause? — the  destruction  of 
forests. 

Whv  then  should  history  repeat  itself  on  this 
subject  in  America? 

As  early  as  1<S32,  the  wisdom  of  Mehemet  AH 
saw  the  cause  of  the  poverty  and  distress,  and  ap- 
plied the  onlv  remedy  that  ever  has  or  ever  will 
restore  life-sustaining  conditions,  and  commenced 
re-establishing  forests  on  the  sand  plains  of  upper 
Egypt — Abyssinia  and  the  slopes  of  the  mount- 


BEASTS,    BIRDS    AND    TREKS,    ETC.  231 

ains — at  the  rate  of  one  hundred  thousand  acres 
annually. 

Trees,  like  beasts  and  birds,  at  one  time  ex- 
isted in  such  vast  and  apparently  incalculable 
numbers  that  it  seemed  improbable  their  pres- 
ence could  be  diminished  sufficiently  to  give  them 
importance  or  value.  To  have  trees  removed  by 
any  means  was  looked  upon  by  the  owner  of  the 
soil  as  a  favor  ;  and  those  having  charge  of  the 
public  domain  felt  pretty  much  the  same  way. 
But  to  the  man  of  three-score  and  ten  years  it  is 
astonishing  how  soon  the  great  forests  have  dis- 
appeared, or  become  so  valuable  and  inviting  as 
to  tempt  the  mercenary  to  steal  and  the  rewarded 
public  official  to  permit.  Trees  have  a  value  to 
every  form  of  life — a  value  above  the  lumber 
they  may  produce  or  the  moneyed  wealth  they 
may  bring  the  possessor.  It  has  for  thousands 
of  years  undergone  practical  demonstration  that 
forests  determine  the  climatic  conditions  of  any 
given  country,  and  for  this  reason  forests  form 
an  indispensable  basis  for  agriculture,  manufact- 
ure and  commercial  industry.  They  also  bear  a 
near  relation  to  the  health,  wealth  and  prosperity 
of  a  nation. 

These  facts  being  so  universally  admitted,  it 
may  seem  strange  that  a  government  which  has 
from  its  inception  been  so  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare of  its  subjects,  and  which  has  assisted  and 
encouraged  in  various  ways  so  many  sources  of 
wealth  and  industrv,  should  have  overlooked  the 


2)52  THK    SIJUIKKKL    HfNTKKS. 

forests,  from  which  the  nation  is  drawing  larger 
amounts  than  from  all  other  natural  sources 
combined. 

The  government  has  ever  been  devoted  to  the 
interests  of  agriculture  and  manufacturing;  and 
by  premiums,  by  exemptions,  by  protections,  by 
model  farms,  by  grants,  by  bounties,  by  patent 
rights,  by  technical  schools,  and  by  introduction 
of  superior  animals  and  improved  machinery,  lias 
fostered  well  these  industries.  It  has  not  been  at 
fault,  either,  in  donating  large  sums  in  the  con- 
struction of  canals  and  railroads  and  for  the  im- 
provement of  rivers  and  harbors.  It  has  even 
taken  an  interest  in  the  clam  and  oyster,  and  has 
stocked  the  rivers  and  lakes  with  young  fish,  that 
the  devastation  of  these  natural  sources  of  wealth 
may  be  compensated  therein*,  and  perpetuated  as 
a  national  trust  ;  while  the  springs  and  brooks  and 
streams,  the  climatic  causes  of  disease,  the  nec- 
essary conditions  for  national  wealth  and  na- 
tional health — in  a  word,  the  importance  of  for- 
ests for  the  nation,  for  the  land,  for  agriculture, 
for  the  perpetuation  of  rivers — has  received  lit- 
tle or  no  official  recognition.  Few  persons  are 
so  destitute  of  foresight  as  not  to  see  that  the 
fires  and  thieves,  and  increasing  consumption,  if 
continued  at  the  present  rate,  can  not  fail  to 
make  this  a  treeless  waste,  a  desolate,  uninhabit- 
able country,  at  no  very  distant  date.  Is  there 
no  way  by  which  the  remaining  beasts  and  birds 
and  trees  can  be  preserved?  Must  the  civili/a- 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  233 

tion  of  the  North-west  permit  the  pirates  of  de- 
struction to  take  and  hold  possession  of  all  its 
natural  endowments?  The  clubs  have  been  after 
the  pot-hunter  with  legal  enactments,  and  have 
crippled,  but  never  as  yet  have  they  succeeded  in 
exterminating  him.  He  is  still  destroying  the 
remnants  of  game,  and  is  at  large  in  the  public 
domain,  seeking  something  to  devour. 

The  general  government  should  no  longer  post- 
pone a  definition  of  its  policy  regarding  forest*, 
rivers,  and  its  millions  of  acres  of  arid  lands.  The 
American  people  have  been  slow  to  realize  the 
drifting  of  this  country  toward  a  forest  famine 
and  its  destructive  results.  On  the  subject  of 
forestry,  until  recently,  representatives  have  been 
politically  dumb,  and,  no  doubt,  would  have  re- 
mained so  much  longer  had  it  not  been  for  the 
inspiration  of  a  few  men.  In  January,  1872,  ex- 
Secretary  Morton  presented  a  resolution  before 
the  Agricultural  Society  of  Nebraska  to  set  apart 
one  day  in  each  year  and  consecrate  it  to  plant- 
ing trees.  This  day  was  christened  "Arbor  Day,11 
and  is  now  observed  by  law  and  proclamation  in 
thirty-one  states  ;  has  entered  our  schools  and 
colleges,  and  forestry  forms  part  of  the  cur- 
riculum. 

Wherever  Arbor-Day  has  been  observed  it  has 
awakened  a  sense  of  inquiry ;  has  taught  the 
children  the  names,  nature,  and  usefulness  of 
trees,  with  a  lasting  admiration  and  love  for 


234  TIIK    SOJ'IRRKL    UfNTKRS. 

thoin.  From  the  influences  of  Arbor-Dav.  Ne- 
braska has  more  than  a  million  acres  of  planted 
forests,  and  Minnesota,  Kansas,  Iowa,  Wiscon- 
sin, and  other  Western  States  fast  following  the 
£ood  example.  "With  laws,  plantings,  and  pre- 
miums ;  with  books,  schools,  and  colleges  ;  with 
the  hearts  of  workers  in  it,  forestry  has  built  up 
a  healthy  public  sentiment  that  must  be  felt. 
The  Eastern  States  are  also  awake  and  glistening 
with  law  oflieers  to  protect  their  woods  from  tires 
and  thieves;  and  by  large  premiums  and  exemp- 
tions from  taxation,  have  greatly  promoted  the 
interest  of  forestry  in  their  respective  states. 

Even  the  state  that  sold  her  birth-right — one 
hundred  and  fifty  billion  feet  of  standing  forest 
for  nine  hundred  million  dollars — is  not  without 
influence  for  good.  All  these  noble  acts  of  the 
states  and  of  the  people  will  be  heard  in  time  ; 
for  the  government  of  the  nation  is  not  given  to 
disregard  the  will  of  the  people,  and  lias  ever 
shown  a  readiness  to  take  the  front  and  co- 
operate with  the  states  in  every  good  work.  But 
there  is  something  more  required  of  a  govern- 
ernment — the  representatives  of  the  people  must 
do  more  than  simply  respond  to  petitions.  In  a 
free  republican  government  the  people  are  both 
sovereigns  and  wards,  and  they  expect  those  who 
assume  legislative  and  executive  powers  of  the 
nation  to  understand  political  economy  sufficiently 
to  manage  correctly  the  finances  and  the  natural 
wealth  of  the  nation  with  intelligence  and  su- 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  235 


Sequoia  Park 


23G  THE    sgriKRKI,    UfNTKRS. 

perior  wisdom.  And  in  this  direction  it  would 
certainly  prove  a  most  laudable  act  to  withdraw 
from  sale  or  entry  for  a  long  period,  if  not  per- 
petually, all  remaining  forests  and  all  arid  lands 
where  the  rain-fall  is  below  twenty  inches,  and 
place  the  same  under  the  management  of  the 
Secretary  of  Agriculture,  with  ample  powers  and 
appropriations  to  build  up  a  grand  system  of 
forestry,  surpassing  in  extent  and  wealth  all  simi- 
lar institutions  belonging  to  the  monarchies  of 

rope  combined. 

Governor  J.  J.  Stevens,  in  his  final  report  of 
surveys  for  a  railroad  across  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
called  the  attention  of  the  government,  in  1855, 
to  the  arid  lands  west  of  the  Missouri  river,  be- 
tween parallels  forty  degrees  and  forty-nine  north 
latitude.  lie  compared  it  in  extent,  climate, 
rain-fall,  and  other  features,  to  the  Steppes,  which 
occupies  about  one-fifth  of  the  Russian  Empire, 
and  quotes  the  "Commentaries  of  the  Produc- 
tive Sources  of  Russia"  to  sustain  his  state- 
ments : 

'•  Among  other  peculiarities  of  the  Steppes  a 
very  prominent  and  distinctive  one  is  the  absence 
of  timber,  .  .  .  and  opinions  differ  greatly 
as  to  the  possibility  of  wooding  it  anew.'' 

Since  LS55,  the  Russian  Government  has  ar- 
rived at  one  conclusion,  and  adopted  a  policy  of 
reforesting  this  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand 
square  miles  worthy  of  imitation. 

Let  the    Government   of  the  United    States   do 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  237 

as  Russia  has  been  doing,  and  the  steppes  from 
the  Missouri  river  to  the  mountains  will  be 
reclaimed  and  made  to  "blossom  as  the  rose/' 
According  to  geological  surveys  there  are  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  million  acres  of  arid,  treeless 
lands,  incapable  of  successful  cultivation  without 
irrigation — but  where  trees  can  be  grown — for  ex- 
periments have  shown  that  trees  will  grow  where 
the  rain-fall  is  insufficient  for  grain  or  grass. 

According  to  J.  W.  Powell,  director  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  on  the  water 
supply  in  the  arid  regions,  it  would  seem  if  all  the 
water  run  off  could  be  impounded  and  appropri- 
ated to  irrigation  it  would  be  insufficient  to  sup- 
ply one-tenth  of  the  arid  districts.  And  it  might 
be  asked  if  the  arid  land  in  the  Dakotas,  Mon- 
tana, Washington,  Oregon,  Idaho,  Utah,  Nevada, 
California,  New  Mexico,  Texas,  Kansas,  Colo- 
rado, Wyoming,  Nebraska,  and  Indian  Territory, 
only  about  "one  hundred  million  acres''  can  be 
irrigated  and  made  productive,  what  is  to  be 
done  with  the  remaining  six  hundred  and  fifty 
million  acres? 

Could  the  area  entire,  or  any  part  of  the  arid 
lands  be  made  productive  on  the  most  economic 
plan  yet  devised  by  irrigation  enterprise  in  this 
country,  the  cost  of  such  lands  and  their  products 
could  never  become  profitably  utilized  in  com- 
merce so  long  as  the  vast  area  of  cheap  productive 
soil  of  the  United  States,  or  even  that  of  the 


North-west  lies  out  doors,  readv  to  receive  the 
showers  of  I  leaven. 

When  we  recount  the  miseries  and  misfortunes 
of  the  eight  hundred  million  people  that  mea^erlv 
subsist  on  the  products  of  irrigated,  treeless 
lands,  it  makes  an  irresistible  hope  that  the 
government  of  this  nation  ma v  never  he  induced  by 
ingenious  descriptions  of  co-operative  svstems  of 
economics,  nor  less  perceptible  but  more  powerful 
influences  of  spccii1(lf<ri's  in  //v.s7» /•//  inilt  r-/r<n/x.  to 
adopt  a  policy  that  will  make  any  part  of  this 
country  and  nation,  a  Spain,  a  China,  an  India, 
or  an  Egypt,  for  want  of  forests. 

Every  country  should  have  a  just  proportion  of 
the  total  area  in  timber  to  make  it  healthful  and 
productive.  It  is  far  better  to  have  a  portion  in 
timber  than  to  have  all  the  country  clothed  with 
herds  or  covered  with  corn.  It  is  the  order  of 
nature,  the  necessity  of  civili/ation.  and  the  on.lv 
true  basis  fora  happy,  powerful  and  independent 
population. 

As  the  source  for  national  revenue,  it  is  an  in- 
terest ranking  first  in  importance,  even  in  dollars 
and  cents;  and  certainly,  if  for  no  other  reason 
than  for  the  wealth  there  is  in  it.  the  subject  de- 
mands the  attention  of  the  government  suffi- 
ciently to  enforce  protection  and  perpetuation. 
Every  year  it  comes — "Once  more  the  forests  of 
the  far  west  are  atlame."  and  it  is  not  only  tin- 
loss  in  money,  but  such  sections  of  country  are 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  239 

ruined  for  all  purposes  beyond  the  power  of 
generations  to  repair. 

It  may  seem  expensive  to  maintain  an  army  of 
officers  and  employes  to  protect  and  perpetuate 
the  forests  of  the  public  domain.  But  notwith- 
standing it  would  require  large  appropriations, 
it  would  repay  the  outlay  many  thousand  times 
in  national  wealth,  for  this  great  army  would  not 
be  idlers.  Nothing  short  of  an  organized  depart- 
ment of  forestry  can  protect  and  maintain  this 
source  of  national  wealth.  The  appropriation 
for  this  department  in  France  has  been  five  mil- 
lion dollars,  and  is  returned  with  good  interest. 

Austria,  not  larger  in  extent  of  territory  than  the 
States  of  Illinois  and  Iowa  combined,  maintains 
thirty-two  thousand  forestry  officers  or  employees 
and  receives  a  large  net  income  from  this  source  ; 
and  reports  show  that  Germany  has  an  annual  in- 
come of  fifty-seven  million  dollars  from  an  area  of 
thirty-three  million  acres  of  timber,  and  it  is  esti- 
mated that  no  more  is  harvested  each  year  than  is 
compensated  by  growth  and  reoccupation  of  wasted 
ground.  For,  forest  preservation  does  not  mean 
that  trees  shall  not  be  cut  down,  but  that  they 
shall  be  used,  while  all  the  conditions  for  their 
reproduction  are  steadily  maintained  from  year 
to  year,  using  if  necessary,  an  amount  equal  to 
the  production  by  growth.  This  requires  plant- 
ing, and  tree-planting  and  forestry  mean  labor  in 
this  country  as  it  does  in  Europe.  The  United 
States  without  Alaska,  is,  I  believe,  about  nine- 


240  TIIK    SOJ'IUKKI.    IirNTKKS. 

teen  times  larger  in  area  than  Germany,  and  to  be 
proportionately  equal  with  this  foreign  power, 
the  Tnited  States  should  have  under  control 
of  the  government  an  area  of  x/>  hundred  million 
acre*  (iff  ((  reservation  for  timber  to  supply  tin-  pultlir 
ticcexxitieH  af  the  near  future.  And  it  should  be 
done  without  delay  ;  the  arid  lands  and  forests 
along  the  streams  and  lakes  that  make  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi  and  other  navigable 
streams,  should  be  dedicated  forever  to  the  culti- 
vation of  timber. 

And  here  the  labor  question  is  solved.  Kverv 
government  that  is  able  to  sustain  itself,  must 
have  something  for  idle  hands  to  do.  The  in- 
creasing supply  of  labor  has  alarmed  many  think- 
ing people.  Labor  /x  irraltJi,  but  how  can  all  find 
employment?  Which  means  bread.  And  various 
suggestions  have  been  made  simply  to  furnish 
.sWWx^mv.  But  in  forestry  there  is  something 
better — a  necessity,  a  demand  for  labor,  giving 
profitable  employment  to  a  vastly  greater  num- 
ber than  anv  other  public  necessity  ;  for  the  la- 
bors of  a  department  or  bureau  of  this  kind 
would  be  as  immense  as  indispensable  ;  and  could 
end  only  with  the  end  of  the  race. 

A  forest  of  six  hundred  million  acres,  thor- 
oughly organixed  and  officered  under  the  Secre- 
tary of  Agriculture,  would  sink  the  post-office 
department  and  its  patronage  into  insignificance, 
and  would  be  the  brightest  star  in  the  civil  serv- 
ice solar  svstem  to  those  who  elect  a  life  in  the 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  241 

service  of  the  country.  But  this  is  not  all — it 
would  make  the  climate  more  healthful,  the  rain- 
fall more  regular  and  abundant,  the  soil  more 
productive,  and  in  due  time  would  exceed  all 
other  sources  of  revenue  combined. 

The  immensity  of  the  consumption  of  forest 
supplies  can  not  be  measured  accurately ;  but 
some  idea  can  be  formed  of  its  vastness,  when  it 
is  known  that  the  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
thousand  miles  of  railroads  and  one  hundred  and 
thirty-seven  thousand  miles  of  telegraph  lines  in 
this  country  consume  each  year  the  annual  growth 
or  a  forest  equal  to  one  li  nndred  and  fifty  m  iUion.  acres. 
And  nothing  short  of  a  large  area  of  well-man- 
aged forest  will  prove  adequate  to  future  de- 
mands. What  else  can  the  nation  expect  when 
at  present  statistics  show  the  annual  consump- 
tion, or  crop,  exceeds  in  value  seven  hundred 
million  dollars? 

This  is  more  than  the  yield  of  all  the  gold- 
mines and  silver-mines,  coal,  iron,  copper,  lead, 
and  zinc  combined  ;  and  if  these  are  added  to  the 
value  of  all  the  steamboats,  sailing  vessels,  ca- 
nal-boats, flat-boats,  and  barges  in  American 
waters,  the  sum  would  be  still  less  than  the  value 
of  the  forest  crop  by  an  amount  sufficient  to  pur- 
chase at  cost  of  construction  all  the  canals,  all  the 
telegraph  and  telephone  lines  in  the  United  States. 
The  value  of  the  forest  income  exceeds  the  gross 
income  of  all  the  railroads  and  transportation 
21 


242  THE    SQl'IKKKL    HCNTKHS. 


lines,  and  is  an  interest  ranking  in  importance 
far  above  all  others  in  the  United  States. 

If  this  country  ever  becomes  a  Dalmatia  — 
changed  from  a  healthful,  fruitful  and  salubrious 
habitation  to  a  sterile,  sickly  waste,  with  decaved 
cities  and  crumbling  greatness,  history  will  not 
say  "the  Romans  did  it.'1 

Man  should  ever  remember  prevention  is  bet- 
ter than  cure.  The  worst  of  evils  is  prevented 
by  the  removal  of  the  cause.  And  when  the 
apathy  and  improvidence  which  now  threaten 
the  destiny  of  a  rich  and  prosperous  nation  are  re- 
moved, then,  and  not  till  then,  can  it  truly  be 
said  that  the  lost  Paradise  of  the  Eastern  Con- 
tinent has  been  regained  in  the  New  World  of 
the  West.  The  people  should  understand,  also, 
the  inspired  influences  of  living  forests  —  trees  — 
those  musical  mutes,  upon  those  who  breathe  their 
sweet  ennobling  influence. 

The  finest  agricultural  climate,  perhaps,  in  the 
world,  fell  to  the  lot  of  Ohio.  But  this  state  will 
soon  be  obliged  to  do  something  to  offset  the  de- 
struction that  is  still  going  on  with  the  little  groves. 
When  it  came  into  the  Union,  it  presented  the 
grandest  unbroken  forest  of  forty-one  thousand 
square  miles  that  was  ever  beheld  on  this  conti- 
nent. A  forest  interspersed  with  hills  and  val- 
leys, springs,  brooks,  and  rivers  ;  with  a  soil  most 
inviting  to  the  aspirations  of  agriculture. 

The  natural  conditions  of  things  were  such 
that  the  possessors  of  this  inheritance  soon  de- 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  243 

sired  occupation  of  the  soil,  and  looked  upon  its 
trees  with  less  favor  than  they  did  upon  those 
who  disputed  their  titles  with  the  tomahawk. 
Indians  could  be  induced  to  move  out  of  the  way, 
but  trees  were  all  disposed  to  stand  their  ground 
and  take  the  consequences.  Both  were  consid- 
ered too  numerous  for  easy  advancement  of 
civilization,  and  in  the  contest  both  got  the  worst 
of  it. 

Forests  may  nourish  independent  of  agricul- 
ture, but  the  latter  can  not  prosper  without  the 
former.  This  was  not  so  evident,  however,  to 
the  early  inhabitant,  who  felt  he  had  thrust  upon 
him  more  than  his  share  of  perpetual  shade,  and 
every  owner  and  occupant  of  the  soil  combined 
with  his  neighbor  in  a  warfare  of  destruction  upon 
trees,  and  millions,  the  best  of  their  kind  ever 
produced  were  killed  by  cutting  a  circle  around 
the  trunk  and  left  to  decay.  These  deadenings 
were  to  be  seen  all  over  the  country,  as  fast  and 
as  far  as  settlements  were  made  or  contemplated. 
And  now,  in  less  than  a  hundred  years,  more 
than  eighty  per  cent,  of  this  great  forest  has  dis- 
appeared, and  only  small  clumps  in  agricultural 
sections  can  be  seen  in  any  part  of  the  state. 

The  older  trees  that  occupied  their  places  in 
these  remnants  of  woods  have  nearly  all  fallen 
by  the  hand  of  the  axman,  and  the  younger 
growths  are  being  appropriated  for  various  pur- 
poses., greatly  in  excess  of  possible  reproduction 
to  the  remaining  stock  ;  and  the  time  is  not  far 


244  TIIK    SlJClKKKI,    HI   NTKRS. 

distant,  if  things  continue  without  change  for  the 
better,  when  the  salubrious  climate,  with  sum- 
mer showers  and  productive  soil,  will  become 
changed  to  one  of  uncertainty.  The  entire  North- 
west is  now  on  the  very  border  of  forest  limit. 
Still  thousands  of  portable  saw-mills  are  moving 
over  the  states,  destroying  the  remaining  needful 
trees,  and  the  rural  districts  will  discover,  when 
too  late,  that  private  interest  is  insufficient  to 
protect  forest  lands  in  quantity  enough  to  main- 
tain climatic  and  sanitary  influences  without  the 
aid  of  state  government. 

Some  years  ago  the  legislature  of  Ohio  passed 
a  law,  now  in  force,  which  lost  the  state  many 
millions  of  growing  forest  trees  that  stood  on  the 
public  grounds.  The  act  reads:  ''Supervises 
shall  cut  down  aU  biixJicx  growing  within  any 
county  or  township  highway,  the  same  to  be  done 
within  the  months  of  July  and  August  of  each 
year.1'  Thus  a  clean  sweep  was  made  of  every 
tree,  bush  and  plant,  as  the  word  ''bushes''  was 
legally  defined  to  mean  places  "abounding  in 
trees  and  shrubs. "  Trees  of  all  kinds,  sizes  and 
ages,  bordering  and  within  the  legal  limits  of  the 
highways,  met  their  doom  under  this  act.  And 
every  growing  scion  that  dared  since  to  raise  its 
head  along  the  border  lines  of  Ohio  roads  has 
met  a  similar  fate  in  the  months  of  .July  and 
August  of  each  year. 

If  laws  can  be  enforced  to  destroy  trees  along 
the  borders  of  public  highways,  it  is  reasonable 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,   AM)    TREKS,    ETC.  245 

to  suppose  laws  may  bo  made  and  enforced  to  re- 
store and  protect  thorn  in  such  locations.  Ohio 
has  approximately  forty  thousand  miles  of  good 
public  highways  and  ways  that  could  well  sub- 
serve the  use  of  trees  along  their  borders,  at  suf- 
ficient distances  to  give  them  room  and  oppor- 
tunity to  grow.  A  tree  on  either  side  at  thirty 
feet  distant  would  make  in  the  aggregate  a  forest 
of  ordinary  distribution  of  several  million  trees, 
that  could  be  owned,  cultivated  and  protected  by 
law.  At  the  same  time,  an  act  of  this  kind 
would  maintain  the  lawful  width  of  roads  and 
prevent  encroachments  by  adjoining  land-owners, 
and  make  all  highways  and  byways  avenues  of 
beauty,  health  and  pleasure.  • 

A  fraction  of  a  mill  added  to  the  tax  assess- 
ment as  a  "forestry  fund/'  and  expended  in 
planting  and  protecting  trees,  would  soon  accom- 
plish the  work.  Trees  similarly  arranged  along 
railroads,  canals  and  water-courses,  and  around 
district  school-houses,  with  a  law  exempting  from 
taxation  all  lands  devoted  exclusively  to  woods, 
would,  in  the  combination,  form  an  important 
factor  in  preserving  the  true1  ratio  of  timber  to 
farming  lands,  the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere, 
and  the  healthful  condition  of  the  country. 

Trees  are  to  be  pri/cd  for  many  reasons,  and 
admired  for  their  longevity.  There  is,  perhaps, 
no  limit  to  the  life  of  a  tree.  No  inquest  has 
ever  rendered  a  verdict  "noised  bij  old  "//''." 
They  are  not  dependent  upon  the  heart  for  their 


2-JG  THK     SqriRKKL    lirNTKKS. 

systemic  vitality.  The  potency  of  the  living 
principle  lies  near  the  periphery  and  most  distant 
foots  and  branches  from  the  surface  of  the 
ground  ;  and  gro\v  on  and  on,  subject  only  to 
accidents  that  may  end  life.  The  expression  mav 
have  seemed  extravagant  for  even  an  enthusiast, 
when  that  slip  from  a  cypress  tree  of  Ceylon 
was  planted,  to  say  it  would  "jlmrr/'xh  and  be  yrccn 
/o/vfT/v'  It  is  now  the  historical  and  sacred 
Bo-tree  of  two  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
three  years,  and  still  green  and  growing. 

While  the  Bo-tree  is  perhaps  the  oldest  tree 
found  in  human  records,  it  is  not  likely  by  any 
means,  that  it  stands  at  the  head  in  longevity. 
For  trees  keep  their  own  books,  and  write  their 
own  history,  in  which  may  be  found  an  account 
of  passing  years,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end- 
ing of  lift1 — a  true  autobiography — the  eucalyp- 
tus of  Senegal,  the  chestnuts  at  Mount  vKtna, 
the  oaks  of  Windsor,  the  yews  at  Fountain 
Abbey,  the  olives  in  the  Garden  of  (Jethsemane, 
or  the  mammoth  trees  in  California  are  much 
older,  making  it  <juite  probable  that  some  of  the 
first  seedlings  that  grew  after  the  last  remodeling 
of  the  earth  took  place,  are  still  green  and 
growing. 

It  is  stated  on  good  authority  that  one  of  those 
ancient  Jumbos  blown  down  at  Sequoia  Park, 
California,  was  forty-one  feet  in  diameter  and 
showed  six  thousand,  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
six  annual  rings,  or  vearlv  growths. 

C?      ;  *"  *        V 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND  TREES,   ETC.  247 

Iii  the  explorations  and  surveys,  under  act  of 
Congress,  1853  and  1854,  Dr.  J.  M.  Bigelow,  in 
his  report  says:  "It  required  five  men  twenty- 
two  days,"  with  pump  augers,  to  get  one  of  these 
Sequoia  Gigantea  down — costing  for  labor  at  Cali- 
fornia prices,  $550.  "A  short  distance  from  this 
tree  was  another  of  larger  dimensions,  which, 
apparently,  had  been  overthrown  by  an  accident 
some  forty  or  fifty  years  ago.  .  .  .  The 
trunk  was  three  hundred  feet  in  length  ;  the  top 
broken  off,  and  by  some  agency  (probably  fire) 
was  destroyed.  At  the  distance  of  three  hundred 
feet  from  the  butt,  the  trunk  was  forty  feet  in 
circumference,  or  more  than  twelve  feet  in  di- 
ameter, .  .  .  proving  to  a  degree  of  moral 
certainty  that  the  tree,  when  standing  alive, 
must  have  attained  the  height  of  four  hundred 
and  fifty  or  five  hundred  feet !" 

'  'At  the  butt  it  is  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  in  cir- 
cumference, or  about  thirty-six  feet  in  diameter. 
On  the  bark,  quite  a  soil  had  accumulated,  on 
which  considerable-sized  shrubs  were  growing. 
Of  these  I  collected  specimens  of  currants  and 
gooseberries  on  its  body,  from  bushes  elevated 
twenty-two  feet  from  the  ground." 

Ohio  abounded  in  large  forest  trees  of  many 
varieties — the  sycamore,  oak,  poplars,  chestnut, 
black  walnut,  etc.  The  writer  made  partial  notes 
at  the  time,  of  a  large  yellow  poplar  that  was 
cut  down  in  1844,  and  taken  to  a  saw  mill,  re- 
ceiving from  it  over  eleven  thousand  feet  of 


2-18  THK    SijriKKKL    IH'NTKKS. 

lumber,  which  was  sold  at  the  mill  for  one  hun- 
dred and  two  dollars.  The  tree  was  large  at  the 
base,  measuring  three  feet  above  the  ground, 
forty  feet  in  circumference.  The  axemen  built 
a  scaffold  twelve  feet  in  height  to  stand  upon, 
and  by  means  of  the  axe  and  saw,  they  made  a 
stump  fifteen  feet  in  height.  Some  distance 
above  this  point  the  center  was  decayed  and 
when  down,  ten  feet  was  discovered  as  unsuitable 
for  boards.  Four  sound  logs  of  ten  feet  each 
were  cut  below  the  two  branches,  and  each 
branch  made  also  a  good  saw-log.  The  four  logs 
cut  from  the  trunk  of  the  tree  were,  on  the 
average  over  seven  feet  in  diameter,  and  were 
obliged  to  be  quartered  in  order  to  handle  them, 
and  consequently  there  was  more  than  ordinary 
waste  at  the  mill,  as  well  as  where  the  tree 
stood.  The  outside  appearance  of  the  tree  bore 
no  evidence  of  decay  and  those  who  had  taken 
the  contract  to  cut  it  down  were  greatly  rejoiced 
to  find  over  four  feet  of  the  diameter  useless  as 
support. 

Many  coon-hunters  had  followed  tracks  in  snow 
for  miles  to  bring  up  at  this  tree,  which  was  se- 
lected for  safety  or  other  instinct  ice  reason; 
probably  from  its  long  standing  it  became  a 
favorite  resort  or  stopping  place  for  traveling 
raccoons.  A  portion  of  both  main  branches  of 
the  tree  was  hollow.  One  was  occupied  by 
coons  and  the  other  by  "the  little  busy  bee." 
But  neither  the  bee-hunters  nor  hunter  for  coons 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TRKKS,   ETC. 

could  be  induced  to  cut  the  tree  for  what  it  con- 
tained, and  for  forty  years  it  defied  the  axemen 
of  the  surrounding  settlement. 

Another  of  the  first  crop  of  trees  that  lias 
passed  away  without  mention  is  a  sycamore 
that  stood  on  the  banks  of  the  Scioto,  in  Picka- 
Ayay  county.  It  became  quite  noted  and  famil- 
iar to  generations  of  hunters,  Ay  ho  used  the  in- 
terior for  camping  purposes  on  hunting  excursions 
for  nearly  half  a  century.  It  Ayas  also  known 
and  A'isited  by  others,  from  the  fact,  in  1872,  a 
newly  married  couple  commenced  housekeeping 
in  its  spacious  quarters,  and  enjoyed  the  seclusion 
amidst  a  forest  of  other  mammoth  trees.  July 
4,  1855,  the  dimensions  of  this  sycamore  Ay  ere 
taken,  Ayhich  showed — Circumference  three  feet 
aboye  ground,  forty-five  feet,  and  diameter  of  the 
holloAA*  chamber,  fourteen  feet  ;  door-way,  three 
feet  Ayide  at  base,  terminating  in  a  point  seA'en 
feet  aboye. 

The  large  trees  existed  in  abundance  in  many 
portions  of  the  state,  showing  ages  of  four  to 
fiA~e  hundred  years.  Trees  sometimes  are  found 
in  such  close  proximity  as  to  be  termed  '  'wedded, ' ' 
as  those  shoAyn  in  the  following  page,  Avhich  are 
near  the  line  of  the  towing  path  of  the  canal  in 
Miami  county — an  elm  and  sycamore — girt  six 
feet  from  the  ground  measures  twenty-four  feet. 

One  of  the  suryeys  of  the  Military  District,  in 
PiekaAvay  county,  is  kiunyn  as  the  "SeA~en  Oaks." 
In  1793,  Avhile  Nathaniel  Massie  Ayas  making  sur- 


250 


THK 


IITNTKHS. 


veying  tours  in  the  country  yet  covered  by  hostile 
Indians,  his  assistant,  Duncan  McArthur.  ran 
around  a  tract  located  in  Pickawav  countv,  cov- 


Conflict  in  Pro-Kmption  Claims. 

orcd  it  witli  warrants,  and  named  it,  "Tlie  Seven. 
Oaks."  The  trees  were  said  to  be  large  one  hun- 
dred years  ago  and  still  growing.  From  meas- 
urements made  June  21,  1805,  the  circumference 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC.  251 

of  the  main  undivided  trunk,  three  feet  from  the 
ground  measured  twenty-five  feet  ten  inches ; 
height  of  common  trunk,  three  feet  six  inches.  At 
the  top  of  the  common  trunk  is  an  opening  eight- 
een inches  wide  into  a  circular  inclosure,  with  a 
floor  thirty-six  inches  in  diameter,  formed  by 
main  trunk  and  surrounding  trees.  The  four  trees, 
forming  the  west  and  north  portions  of  the  circle, 
remain  united  for  ten  feet,  while  those  forming 
the  south  and  eastern  portion  separate  at  six  feet 
from  the  ground.  Each  of  the  seven  trees 
is  one  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  measures  a 
little  over  eight  feet  in  circumference  at  bi- 
sections. 

"  Grandeur,  strength,  and  grace, 
Are  to  speak  of  thee.     This  mighty  oak — 
By  whose  immovable  stem  I  stand  and  seem 
Almost  annihilated — not  a  prince, 
In  all  that  proud  old  world  beyond  the  deep, 
E'er  wore  his  crown  as  loftily  as  he 
Wears  the  green  coronal  of  leaves  with  which 
Thy  hand  has  graced  him." 

Great  trees  and  great  men  and  women  are  too 
numerous  to  obtain  more  than  a  mention.  Every 
thing  in  Ohio  has  shown  a  tendency  to  superior- 
ity. It  may  seem  almost  fabulous,  though  true, 
a  grape-vine  near  Frankfort,  in  Ross  county,  was 
cut  down  in  1853  that  measured  sixteen  feet  in 
circumference,  ten  feet  from  the  ground  ;  twenty 
feet  up  it  divided  into  three  branches,  each  meas- 
uring eight  feet  in  circumference  ;  height,  sev- 


TIIK    SijriKKKI.    Ill   MKKS. 


entv-tive  feet.  Mini  spread  one  hundred  ;uid  fifty 
feet  ;  and  whell  flit  Up  made  eijjllt  cords  of  fire- 
wood. 

h     IIMS    l»een    shown    l»y    nciual    inrjiMin-nienis 
thai  ilif  "lii^  din"  of  Walnut  siivrt.  ( 'hillicoihr. 


Klin. 


Ohio,  is  much  lar^-r  than  tin-  famous  lioston 
din.  <»r  any  OIK-  at  Cambridge1,  N<-w  Haven,  or 
the  ^rrat  trcr  at  Wcthcrslicld.  Thr  (  'hillicot  he 
dm  measures  twrnty-rijjht  feet  .»i\  inches  in  cir- 
cumference three  feet  ahove  ground,  with  houghs 
covering  an  area  of  fifty-five  square  rods.  As 
late  as  1S-10  the  remnants  of  this  olden  forest 


BEASTS,   BIRDS  AND  TREES,   ETC. 


253 


crop  could  be  numbered  by  the  dozen  on  an  area 
of  almost  any  square  mile  of  woods.  They  were 
left  because  it  meant  work  to  get  them  off  their 
pre-emption  claim.  But  an  advance  in  lumber 
and  improvements  soon  diminished  the  number 
having  a  lumber  value,  leaving  those  unfitted  for 
boards  to  the  destruction  of  campfires  and  girdling, 
or  to  be  utilized  as  houses  of  various  kinds  and 
purposes.  A  large,  hollow  sycamore  in  Pike 
county,  near  Waverly,  made  a  commodious 
blacksmith  shop  and  horse-shoeing  establishment 
for  many  years. 

"The  Logan  Elm"  is  the  most  interesting  his- 


The  Logan  Elm. 


254  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

to ric  tree  in  Ohio,  testifying  of  thrilling  inci- 
dents in  colonial  times — military  achievements  of 
Lord  Dunmore,  unsurpassed  ability  of  the  red 
man,  and  the  trying  period  of  the  earliest  pio- 
neers— each  giving  great  interest  to  the  spot 
where  stands  this  living  monument. 

During  the  fall  of  1774  Lord  Dunmore  fitted 
out  an  expedition  of  three  thousand  men,  hoping 
to  destroy  the  Indians  and  their  numerous  towns 
along  the  Scioto  valley.  His  army  moved  west- 
ward in  two  sections.  The  larger  division,  com- 
manded by  Dunmore  in  person,  crossed  the 
mountains  by  way  of  the  Cumberland  Gap,  and 
arrived  at  the  Ohio  river  near  where  Wheeling 
now  stands,  and  the  smaller  corps,  under  com- 
mand of  Colonel  Andrew  Lewis,  followed  the 
Kanawha  to  its  confluence.  Before  reaching  the 
villages  of  the  plains  and  along  the  borders  of  the 
Scioto  river,  in  Pickaway  county,  the  divisions 
had  planned  to.  form  a  junction. 

Colonel  Lewis  arrived  on  the  Ohio  river  at  the 
point  designated  October  6th,  and  encamped  011 
the  grounds  now  occupied  by  .the  town  of  Point 
Pleasant,  awaiting  dispatches  from  Lord  Dun- 
more.  After  remaining  three  days  without  in- 
trenchments  or  other  works  of  defense,  he  was, 
on  the  10th,  attacked  early  in  the  morning  by 
one  thousand  chosen  braves  of  the  tribes  belong- 

O 

ing  to  the  confederacy,  under  the  great  chieftain, 
"Cornstalk,"  hoping  to  destroy  his  enemies  be- 
fore they  should  have  an  opportunity  to  unite 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  255 

their  forces.  The  battle  lasted  all  day  and  ended 
with  the  cover  of  night.  The  Indians  felt  they 
received  the  greater  disaster,  having  two  hundred 
and  thirty-three  killed  and  severely  wounded. 
Here  Colonel  Charles  Lewis  lost  his  life,  with 
the  lives  of  half  of  the  commissioned  officers. 

Chief  Cornstalk  felt  the  failure,  and  to  save 
the  towns  and  people  of  the  Scioto  valley,  some- 
thing must  be  done  immediately,  and  hurried  to 
Lord  Duhmore  with  petitions  for  peace.  Previous 
to  this,  and  in  ignorance  of  the  bloody  battle, 
Dunmore  had  transmitted  orders  to  Lewis  to 
move  on  and  enter  the  borders  of  the  enemy's 
country  on  the  Scioto. 

Elated  with  the  idea  of  slaughtering  the  "red- 
skins" in  their  camps  and  country,  the  enraged 
Virginians  marched  eighty  miles  through  a  rough, 
trackless  wilderness,  without  bread  or  tents,  and 
on  the  24th  day  of  October  encamped  on  the 
banks  of  Congo,  under  the  spreading  boughs 
of  the  historic  tree,  and  within  less  than  four 
miles  of  the  great  town  of  the  Shawnees,  located 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  Scioto  river,  now  known 
as  "Westfall."  Chief  Constalk  had  been  scout- 
ing Colonel  Lewis's  movements,  and  he,  with  the 
chiefs  of  other  tribes,  were  beseeching  Lord 
Dunmore  to  stop  Colonel  Lewis  and  save  their 
towns  and  women  and  children. 

Thrice  had  Lewis  received  orders  to  halt,  but 
on  he  went  ;  and  when  near  the  Indian  town,  he 
was  intercepted  by  Dunmore,  who  drew  his  sword 


256 


THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTKRS. 


WHERE 

DUNMORE  TOOK 
LEWIS' COMMAND 


LOP0 Dl/NMORE'S  CAMPAIGN. 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,    AND    TREES,    ETC.  257 

upon  Lewis  and  threatened  him  with  instant 
death  if  he  persisted  in  any  further  disobedience, 
and  marched  the  army  back  to  Camp  Lewis, 
where  the  treaty  went  on  to  a  satisfactory  con- 
clusion, in  the  presence  of  two  thousand  five 
hundred  troops  and  all  the  confederate  chiefs  and 
their  warriors. 

There  was  one  chief  absent  whom  Dunmore 
much  desired  present — Logan,  the  great  warrior 
of  the  Mingoes — who  felt  his  people  had  been 
very  unfortunate  in  their  attempts  at  peaceful 
relations  with  the  whites  ;  and  in  order  to  secure 
his  presence,  John  Gibson,  an  interpreter  and 
friend  of  Logan's,  was  detailed  as  messenger 
with  dispatches  to  the  chief,  wrho  resided  at  Old 
Chillicothe  (Westfall) ,  about  four  miles  distant 
from  Camp  Lewis. 

Of  this  matter  Captain  Gibson  says,  under 
oath,  he  found  Logan  at  his  home,  but  refused 
to  attend  the  council,  and  that  at  the  chief's  re- 
quest they  Avalked  out  some  distance  into  the 
woods  and  sat  down.  Logan  appeared  much 
affected,  and  after  shedding  many  tears  and 
showing  other  manifestations  of  sorrow,  told  his 
pathetic  story  in  reply  to  the  request  from  Lord 
Dunmore,  and  which  Gibson  translated  into  En- 
glish and  delivered  to  Dunmore  in  the  council 
assembled  under  the  boughs  of  this  noble  tree  on 
the  banks  of  the  Congo — and  was  read  as  follows, 
to  wit : 

22 


258  THE     SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

"I  appeal  to  any  white  man  to  say  if  ever  he 
entered  Logan's  cabin  hungry  and  I  gave  him 
not  meat ;  if  ever  he  came  cold  or  naked  and  I 
gave  him  not  clothing. 

"During  the  course  of  the  last  long  and  bloody 
war  Logan  remained  in  his  tent,  an  advocate  for 
peace.  Nay,  such  was  my  love  for  the  whites 
that  those  of  my  countrymen  pointed  at  me  as 
they  passed  by  and  said,  'Logan  is  the  friend  of 
the  white  man.'  I  had  even  thought  to  have 
lived  among  them,  but  for  the  injuries  of  one 
man — Colonel  Cresap — who  last  spring,  in  cold 
blood  and  unprovoked,  cut  off  all  the  relations  of 
Logan,  not  sparing  even  my  women  and  chil- 
dren. There  runs  not  a  drop  of  my  blood  in  the 
veins  of  any  human  creature.  This  called  on 
me  for  revenge — I  have  sought  it.  I  have  killed 
many.  I  have  fully  glutted  my  vengeance.  For 
my  country  I  rejoice  at  the  beams  of  peace.  Yet 
do  not  harbor  the  thought  that  mine  is  the  joy 
of  fear.  Logan  never  felt  fear.  He  will  not 
turn  on  his  heel  to  save  his  life.  Who  is  there 
to  mourn  for  Logan?  Not  one." 

The  authorship  of  this  message  has  been 
doubted  and  disputed  by  reason  of  its  greatness. 
But  it  is  well  known  that  many  of  the  native 
men  of  America  have  shown  an  ability  for  ex- 
pression of  thoughts  surpassed  by  no  people  or 
nation  in  the  world.  Who  could  have  thought 
it — who  could  have  said  it  so  effectively,  by  every 
gesture  and  living  fiber — as  it  was  expressed  by 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC. 

Tecumseh,  after  finishing  a  speech  at  Vincennes 
holding,  contrary  to  the-  United  States  Govern- 
ment, that  no  one  or  two  tribes  could  make 
treaties  conveying  away  lands  without  the  con- 
sent of  others  equally  interested?  When  done 
speaking,  an  aid  of  Governor  Harrison,  pointing 
to  a  vacant  chair,  said  to  Tecumseh,  "Your 
father  requests  you  to  take  a  seat  by  his  side." 
Drawing  his  mantle  around  him,  the  chief 
proudly  exclaimed  :  "My  father  !  The  sun  (point- 
ing upward)  is  my  father,  and  the  earth  my 
mother;  on  her  bosom  I  will  repose,"  and  seated 
himself  on  the  ground  where  he  had  been  stand- 
ino-.  And  it  is  unusual,  at  least,  that  one  with 

o 

learning  and  general  acquaintance  with  the  high 
standard  of  natural  ability  of  the  Indian,  and 
after  so  many  years,  should  enter  into  a  volumi- 
nous correspondence  to  prove  that  he  (Jefferson) 
did  not  write  ''Logan's  reply." 

Some  years  since,  a  partial  investigation  of  the 
papers  of  Lord  Dunmore  was  made.  While  the 
original  Gibson  translation  was  not  discovered, 
there  was  much  to  confirm  the  statements  here 
given. 

The  expedition  of  Dunmore  with  an  army  of 
three  thousand  men  into  the  heart  of  an  Indian 
country,  with  mountains  and  wilderness  hun- 
dreds of  miles  between  him  and  supplies,  at 
that  early  date,  with  that  existing  animosity  be- 
tween the  Indians  and  his  Virginia  soldiery, 
makes  it  appear  now,  as  it  did  at  the  time  to 


260  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

many  of  his  soldiers,  of  singular  significance. 
When  the  military  expedition  readied  the  point 
of  destination  it  found  the  enemy  praying  for 
peace.  And  while  the  chiefs  were  entertained  in 
council,  and  the  braves  and  soldiers  were  listen- 
ing to  Virginia  oratory,  small  bands  of  mad- 
dened and  vicious  troops  stole  away  and  mur- 
dered Indian  women  and  children,  fired  their 
towns,  and  with  stolen  horses  discharged  them- 
selves from  the  army  and  fled  the  country. 

The  Indians  were  helpless,  and  the  treaty  fix- 
ing the  Ohio  river  the  boundary  line  went  on, 
while  the  soldiers  put  in  the  time  making  speeches 
and  passing  resolutions.  The  following  should 
be  ever  preserved  as  the  thoughts  of  men  in  a  far 
country,  by  a  captain  :. 

"GENTLEMEN — Having  now  concluded  the  cam- 
paign, by  the  assistance  of  Providence,  with 
honor  and  advantage  to  the  colony  and  ourselves, 
it  only  remains  that  we  should  give  our  country 
the  stronger  assurance  that  we  are  ready  at  all 
times,  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  to  maintain 
and  defend  her  just  rights  and  privileges. 

"We  have  lived  about  three  months  in  the 
woods,  without  any  intelligence  from  Boston,  or 
from  the  delegates  at  Philadelphia.  It  is  possi- 
ble, from  the  groundless  reports  of  designing 
men,  that  our  countrymen  may  be  jealous  of  the 
use  such  a  body  would  make  of  arms  in  their 
hands  at  this  critical  juncture.  That  we  are  a 


BEASTS,    BIRDS,   AND  TREKS,    ETC'.  2G1 

respectable  body  is  certain,  when  it  is  considered 
that  we  can  live  weeks  without  bread  or  salt  ; 
that  we  can  sleep  in  the  open  air  without  any 
covering  but  that  of  the  canopy  of  heaven  ;  and 
that  we  can  march  and  shoot  with  any  in  the 
known  world.  Blessed  with  these  talents,  let  us 
solemnly  engage  to  one  another,  and  our  country 
in  particular,  that  we  will  use  them  for  no  pur- 
pose but  for  the  honor  and  advantage  of  America, 
and  of  Virginia  in  particular.  It  behooves  us, 
then,  for  the  satisfaction  of  our  country,  that  we 
should  give  them  our  real  sentiments  by  way  of 
resolves  at  this  verv  alarming  crisis.' 

•/  o 

Thereupon  the  committee  presented  the  follow- 
ing resolutions,  which  carried,  and  ordered 
printed  in  the  Virginia  Gazette: 

"Rcsolrcd,  That  we  will  bear  the  most  faithful 
allegiance  to  His  Majesty,  King  George  the  Third, 
while  His  Majesty  delights  to  reign  over  a  brave 
and  free  people  ;  that  we  will,  at  the  expense  of 
life  and  every  thing  dear  and  valuable,  exert  our- 
selves in  the  support  of  the  honor  of  his  crown 
and  the  dignity  of  the  British  Empire.  But  as 
the  love  of  liberty  and  attachment  to  the  real  in- 
terests and  just  rights  of  America  outweigh  every 
other  consideration,  we  resolve  we  will  exert 
every  power  within  us  for  the  defense  of  Amer- 
ican liberty,  and  for  the  support  of  her  just 
rights  and  privileges — not  in  any  precipitous, 
riotous  or  tumultuous  manner,  but  when  regu- 


2G2  THE    SQU1KREL    HUNTERS. 

larly  called  forth  by  the  unanimous  voice  of  our 
countrymen. 

Li  Resolved,  That  we  entertain  the  greatest  re- 
spect for  his  excellency,  the  Rt.  Hon.  Lord  Dun- 
more,  who  commanded  the  expedition  against  the 
Shawanese,  and  who  we  are  confident  underwent 
the  great  fatigue  of  this  singular  campaign  from 
no  other  motive  than  the  true  interests  of  the 
country. 

"Signed  by  order  and  in  behalf  of  the  whole 
corps.  BENJAMIN  ASUBY,  Clerk.'' 

All  of  which  shows  political  and  personal  reso- 
lutions have  maintained  a  due  degree  of  hypoc- 
risy to  the  present,  without  material  change. 

Captain  John  Bono's  and  family  located  on  this 

i  OO  */ 

place  in  1798,  before  the  lands  were  surveyed  or 
in  market.  And  from  Captain  Williamson,  an 
officer  under  Lord  Dunmore,  Captain  Boggs  pro- 
cured many  important  facts  in  regard  to  Camp 
Lewis,  Logan,  and  the  noted  tree.  This  large 
and  valuable  tract  of  land ,  on  which  the  tree 
stands  passed  from  the  United  States  into  the 
hands  of  Captain  John  Boggs,  and  is  still  owned 
by  his  descendants. 

In  memory  of  the  family  settlement  and  his- 
toric events  of  the  spot,  John  Boggs  the  third 
erected  a  handsome  monument  where  stood  the 
cabin  in  which  three  generations  were  born.  The 
monument  is  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
of  the  Logan  Elm,  is  of  pure  granite,  twelve 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,   ETC. 


263 


feet  square,  base  six  feet,  shaft  fifteen  feet, 
tapering.  On  each  side  are  cut  letters  in  com- 
memoration of  events  connected  with  that  spot. 
On  one  side  is  firmly  set  in  the  granite  a  bronze 


Monument  of  the  Boggs  Family. 

tablet,  thirty  by  fifteen  inches,  bearing  the  pic- 
ture of  the  capture  of  Captain  Boggs'  son,  AVill- 
iam,  in  bas-relief.  The  figures  depicted  repre- 


264 


THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 


sent  a  thrilling  and  vivid  scene  which  on  that 
spot  actually  once  occurred  in  view  of  the  agonized 
family. 

The  landscape  is  an  exact  representation  of  the 
surroundings.  In  the  left-hand  corner  is  a  log 
cabin,  at  the  corner  of  which  is  the  figure  of  an 
Indian  with  a  gun  to  his  shoulder  ;  to  the  left, 
and  fronting  the  cabin  door  stands  an  Indian. 


At  the  right  of  this  is  a  field  of  wheat  surrounded 
by  a  rail-fence.  Several  panels  have  been  thrown 
down  in  the  night,  and  the  cattle  are  in  the  field 
eating  the  grain.  Near  the  fence  is  seen  a  boy 
running  up  a  slight  ascent,  making  his  way  to  a 
palisade  on  the  elevation  beyond — after  him  are 
two  Indians  in  hot  pursuit. 

The    Indians,    under    cover    of    darkness,    had 
torn  down  the   fence  and  turned  the  cattle  upon 


BEASTS,   BIRDS,   AND    TREES,    ETC.  2G5 

the  growing  grain  ;  then  secreted  themselves  for 
events  that  might  occur  in  the  morning.  The 
decoy  was  successful.  The  boy,  awakening  early, 
found  the  destructive  scene,  and,  unsuspecting 
the  authors  of  the  mischief,  proceeded  at  once  to 
drive  out  the  herd  and  to  restore  the  fence.  Sud- 
denly an  apparition  of  a  hostile  foe  rises  before 
him.  He  at  once  retreats  toward  the  cabin,  but 
there  too  he  sees  a  redskin  awaiting  his  approach . 
He  turns,  and,  with  the  speed  of  dying  fright, 
vainly  endeavors  to  make  the  palisade  on  the 
elevation  ;  but  his  course  is  beset  with  increasing 
pursuers  on  all  sides,  and  at  length,  exhausted, 
is  overcome  and  made  captive  to  Indian  cunning. 

All  this  time,  Captain  Boggs  stood  sentinel  at 
the  cabin's  corner,  guarding  the  family,  while 
the  son  is  relentlessly  pursued  by  the  hostile 
enemy.  The  whole  is  depicted  and  for  the  time 
preserved  in  bronze  and  granite  ;  and  as  genera- 
tions of  the  future  stand  before  this  consecrated 
record,  it  will  extort  thoughts  of  the  pioneer — his 
pleasures  and  his  sufferings — with  venerated  ad- 
miration for  those  whose  lives  marked  out  the 
pathway  of  our  civilization. 

Every  nation,  every  country,  and  every  town 
has  historic  trees.  They  are  not  without  influ- 
ence on  the  destiny  of  individuals,  societies,  and 
nations.  They  are  objects  of  reverence — works 
of  time — homes  of  generations — and  the  manifest 
wisdom  of  creation.  In  the  tree  is  beheld  in  per- 
23 


266  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

fection  an  enduring  living  principle,  exceeding 
all  other  forms  of  life — beginning  in  the  morning 
of  creation  and  ending  only  with  the  end  of  time. 
When  moth  and  rust  have  corroded  memorial  in 
bronze,  and  years  of  the  unseen  future  have  crum- 
bled the  granite  to  dust,  there  will  still  be  standing 
noble,  historic  trees,  with  all  their  lessons  fresh 
and  green. 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA.    267 


CHAPTER  V. 

OHIO— HER  COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA. 


At  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  a  majority  of 
the  people  cheerfully  trusted  to  the  wisdom  and 
integrity  of  those  who  led  the  way  to  a  country 
and  conditions  on  which  to  found  a  republic. 
The  patriots  who  unfurled  the  Declaration  of  1  n- 
dependence  were  glorified  in  the  name  of  ''United 
States  of  America/'  And  with  thirteen  stars, 
the  red,  white,  and  blue  came  forth  a  govern- 
ment strong  and  vigorous,  honored  and  respected, 
amidst  an  epidemic  of  European  wars.  In  the 
formation  of  the  republican  government,  so  few 
precedents  were  at  hand  that  could  be  used  as 
guides  to  the  organization,  the  work  was  ren- 
dered herculean  in  character.  But  with  General 
Washington,  John  Adams,  Jonathan  Dayton, 
Alexander  Hamilton,  and  other  patriotic  Feder- 
alists, at  the  head,  the  people  had  no  fears  for 
the  accepted  Constitution.  Still,  the  first  Presi- 
dent and  his  advisers  were  not  blind  to  the  dan- 
gers that  surrounded  the  new  republic.  The 
First  Congress  (1789-90)  assembled  with  but  a 
small  and  uncertain  majority  favorable  to  the 
Constitution  as  adopted  ;  and  the  combination  of 


268  TIIK     SljriKKKF.    IICNTKKS. 

disaffected  and  opposing  elements  wore  loud  in 
their  denunciations  of  the  President  and  "tlmt 

in*f i'u iiH-nt :"  and  it  required  <;reat  wisdom,  mod- 
eration, and  concession  to  obtain  the  necessary 
contemplated  amendments*  and  acts  of  Congress 
necessary  to  carry  on  and  regulate  the  working 
operations  of  the  several  departments  of  the  new 
government. 

The  citixens  of  the  South,  and  those  of  the 
North  were  e<|iiallv  jealous  of  their  interests. 
New  England  demanded  a  protective  t  a  rill',  and 
the  South  "free-trade."  That  which  suited  one 
locality  was  the  policy  not  desired  in  another, 
Consequently,  some  states  felt  they  were  treated 
unfairly  in  ////*,  and  others  in  tJtaf,  and  a  Con- 
gress failing  to  legislate  special  benefits  to  all 
found  denunciations  common  with  a  disregard  for 
law  and  order,  occasionally  amounting  to  open 
rebellion. t 

At  the  very  commencement  of  President  Wash- 
ington's second  term,  things  became  stormv  and 
taxed  the  wisdom  uf  the  man  who  had  crowned 
a  successful  revolution,  to  manipulate  the  new 
machinery  of  a  complex  government  into  satis- 
factorv  running  order.  The  cabinet  and  both 


Sixteen  articles  of  amendment  to  tin-  adopted  Constitution 
\\iTe  approved  by  Congress,  September,  17V.  ten  of  which 
were  approved  by  the  state?. 

t  Excise  act  in  Pennsylvania  in  171M.  This  revolt  required 
fifteen  thousand  armed  men  to  quell,  and  cost  the  I'nited 
States  $1,000.000. 


COACH,   CANAL,   AND    STEAMBOAT    ERA.          269 

branches  of  the  legislative  department  were 
pretty  evenly  divided  on  the  distracting  ques- 
tions of  the  times.  France  and  England  were  at 
war — the  French  Republic  expected  reciprocal 
help  from  the  United  States.  The  Secretary 
of  State  (Mr.  Jefferson)  and  Mr.  Randolph,  At- 
torney-General, contrary  to  the  views  of  the 
President,  espoused  the  cause  of  France,  and 
were  suspected  of  aiding  Genet,  the  French 
minister,  in  issuing  commissions  to  vessels  of 

o 

war  to  sail  from  American  ports  and  cruise 
agai-nst  the  enemies  of  France. 

Notwithstanding  this,  and  the  violent  opposi- 
tion of  both  houses  of  Congress,  the  President 
remained  firm,  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  under  the  circumstances,  should  not  be- 
come involved  in  a  war  with  Great  Britain,  and 
issued  his  neutrality  proclamation,  had  the  French 
minister  recalled  and  accepted  the  resignation  of 
the  Secretary  of  State.  Congress,  however,  per- 
sisted in  doing  all  it  could  to  strengthen  the  op- 
position to  the  President  and  bring  on  a  war  with 
England.  When  foiled  in  this,  attempted  by 
resolution  to  adopt  the  substance  of  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son's final  report — "to  cut  off  all  intercourse  with 
Great  Britain,  and  as  good  republicans  or  democrats, 
either  wear  the  "national  cockade"  as  evidence 
of  opposition  to  neutrality  and  fr/cndxliip  for 
France. 

The  resolution  passed  the  House  but  was  de- 
feated in  the  Senate,  by  the  casting  vote  of  Vice- 


270  THE     SQUIRKKL    HTXTKUS. 

President  Jolin  Adams,  and  saved  tlio  nation 
from  disgrace.  The  common  people  had  been 
partially  persuaded  by  the  doctrines  of  Jefferson 
that  federalism  meant  the  establishment  of  a 
limited  monarchy,  and  want  of  confidence  in  the 
people.  This  was  giving  the  position  of  Wash- 
ington and  his  followers  a  coloring  much  below 
their  patriotic  conceptions.  They  held  a  govern- 
ment of  laws  must  have  principle  of  energy  and 
coercion;  and  it  was  the  concentration  of  this 
energy  in  a  federal  government  which  the  con- 
vention gave,  and  which,  to  carry  out  into- per- 
fection, induced  the  Washington  policy. 

Had  it  been  otherwise,  had  Mr.  Jefferson's 
ideas  of  government  been  placed  in  his  own 
hands  for  orgina/ation,  with  his  unlimited  con- 
fidence in  the  virtue  of  the  people,  and  their 
capacity  for  self  government  in  the  final  experi- 
ment, the  Constitution  would  have  crumbled  to 
pieces  in  his  own  hands.  At  the  end  of  eight 
years  of  Washington's  administration,  1797,  the 
nation  was  at  peace  at  home  and  abroad — all 
disputes  had  been  settled  amicably  excepting  that 
of  France — the  credit  of  the  government  was 
never  better — ample  provision  had  been  made 
for  the  payment  of  the  public  debt — "commerce 
had  experienced  unexampled  prosperity — Ameri- 
can tonnage  had  nearly  doubled — the  products  of 
agriculture  had  found  a  ready  market — the  ex- 
ports had  increased  from  nineteen  millions  to 
mere  than  fifty-six  million  dollars — and  the 


COACH,   CANAL,   AXD    STEAMBOAT    ERA.          271 

amount  of  revenues  from  imports  exceeded  the 
most  sanguine  expectations,  and  the  prosperity 
of  the  country  was  unparalleled,  notwithstanding 
great  losses  from  belligerant  depredations. ' '  How 
different  the  story  when  Mr.  Jefferson  turned  the 
hio-h  office  over  to  Mr.  Madison,  March  4,  1809, 

O 

as  given  in  the  report  of  a  committee  of  the 
legislature  of  Massachusetts,  January  previous 
to  the  close  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  administration. 

"Our  agriculture  is  discouraged,  the  fisheries 
abandoned,  navigation  forbidden  ;  our  commerce 
at  home  and  abroad  restrained,  if  not  annihilated  ; 
our  navy  sold,  dismantled,  or  degraded  to  the 
service  of  cutters  or  gunboats  ;  the  revenue  ex- 
tinguished ;  the  course  of  justice  interrupted, 
and  the  nation  weakened  by  internal  animosities 
and  divisions,  at  the  moment  when  it  is  unneces- 
sarily and  improvidently  exposed  to  war  with 
Great  Britain,  France  and  Spain." 

The  most  peculiar  and  damaging  political  view 
held  by  Mr.  Jefferson  was  that  appropriations  by 
the  government  for  national  internal  improve- 
ments were  unconstitutional.  This  was  enforced 
as  a  cardinal  principle  of  his  "Republican-Demo- 
cratic'1' party,  and  so  influenced  his  party  succes- 
sors, Madison  and  Monroe,  that  during  their  ad- 
ministrations, appropriations  and  surveys  were 
refused  on  constitutional  grounds.  However 
good,  influential  and  honest  the  actors  may  have 
been,  it  is  quite  evident  the  political  influences 
of  those  in  power,  from  the  commencement  of 


Li'L  THE    SQUIRREL    HTNTKHS. 

the  administration  of  Thomas  Jefferson  in  1801 
to  the  end  of  Monroe's  in  182."),  blocked  the 
wheels  of  progress  in  civilization  under  the  pre- 
text of  reverence  for  the  Constitution. 

It  was  generally  rumored  in  Ohio  politics  that 
the  Jeffersonian  partv  were  opposed  to  expendi- 
tures for  national  internal  improvements,  and 
before  entering  the  Union  the  state  presented  her 
influence  with  the  Eighth  Congress  fora  national 
highway,  from  Cumberland.  Maryland,  to  the 
Ohio  river  at  Wheeling,  Virginia,  and  from 
Wheeling  westward  across  the  proposed  State  of 
Ohio.  The  measure  passed  Congress  and  was 
approved  by  President  Jefferson  as  "a  irur  mcaN- 
in-c  and  bond  of  union/'  instead  of  an  liunconxti- 
tutionnl  improvement. " 

This,  however,  was  not  considered,  by  Mr. 
Jefferson  nor  his  party,  binding  in  policy  as  a 
precedent  ;  but  Ohio  politicians  thought  differ- 
ently, and  from  necessity  and  importance  of  the 
subject  kept  it  agitated  in  and  out  of  Congress. 
And  in  1S1(>,  after  an  able  and  full  discussion  of 
the  constitutionality  and  expediency  of  a  system 
of  internal  improvements  by  the  general  govern- 
ment, both  houses  of  the  Fourteenth  Congress 
passed  a  bill  appropriating  the  bonus  which  the 
Tnited  States  Bank  was  to  pav  the  (Jovernment 
for  the  charter,  to  purposes  of  internal  improve- 
men  ;  but  the  bill  was  returned  to  Congress  l>y 
the  President  (Mr.  Madison)  with  his  veto  in- 


COACH,   CANAL,    AND    STKA  M  P,<  >AT    KKA.          '273 

volving  constitutional  scruples,  and  the  measure 
failed  to  become  a  law. 

Notwithstanding  both  houses  of  Congress  were 
at  times  favorable  to  improvements,  the  majority 
was  not  often  found  conservative,  and  in  1822 
killed  a  small  appropriation  to  repair  the  Cum- 
berland road,  built  and  controlled  by  the  Govern- 
ment. 

A  small  majority  of  the  Eighteenth  Congress, 
in  1823  and  1824,  came  around  partially  to  the 
grounds  occupied  by  the  Ohio  people  on  the  sub- 
ject of  improvements,  and  made  an  appropria- 
tion of  thirty  thousand  dollars,  authorizing  the 
expenditure  on  surveys,  plans  and  estimates  of 
such  roads  and  canals  as  the  President  might 
deem  of  national  importance. 

President  Monroe,  after  mature  deliberation, 
gave  the  bill  his  approval.  At  that  date,  a  por- 
tion of  the  New  York  and  Erie  Canal  was  in  op- 
eration, and  as  an  orator  was  very  convincing  and 
converting.  This  could  not  justly  be  called  a 
''war  measure,"  nor  a  "bond  of  union;''  and 
was  universally  accepted  as  a  second  precedent 
in  favor  of  "internal  improvements,''  and  ended 
the  Jeffersonial  dynasty  as  far  south  as  the  City 
of  Washington  ;  and  in  1829  Andrew  Jackson,  in 
direct  opposition  to  his  supporters  in  the  South, 
New  England,  and  in  New  York,  followed  the 
precedent  of  Ex-President  J.  Q.  Adams,  indors- 
ing the  action  of  the  Twentieth  Congress,  which 


274  TIIK    StjriKKKL    IirNTEKS. 

declared  t\\e  constitutionality  and  expediency  of  sucli 
improvements. 

This  fixed  the  policy  of  the  Government  for 
all  future  time,  Ohio,  feeling  proud  in  the  active 
part  she  had  taken,  having  the  honor  of  bring- 
ing about  the  first  national  internal  improvement 
in  the  United  States. 

Although  the  Government  had  changed  its 
policy,  the  political  education  of  the  people  had 
been  such  that  many  good  citizens  had  little  or 
no  desire  for  changes  or  improvements  that  might 
destroy  or  disregard  the  sanctity  of  the  constitu- 
tion ;  nor  could  it  be  claimed  they  were  much  in 
favor  of  improvements  of  any  kind — things  were 
good  enough.  They  did  not  expect  to  have  every 
thing  in  the  world,  and  were  satisfied  if  tilings 
would  remain  as  they  were  ;  they  did  not  want 
any  thing  better  than  the  easy  routine  in  which 
they  had  spent  much  of  their  lives.  The  New 
York  Canal  was  talked  of  as  a  private  enter- 
prise ;  but  for  what  purpose  above  the  cost  of 
labor  could  not  be  stated,  as  there  were  no  xur- 
]>lns  productions  in  the  country  calling  for  a  mar- 
ket, and  so  far  Ohio  people  were  "high  protection- 
ists of  lioinc  industries,"  and  did  not  favor  the  in- 
troduction of  "cheap  foreign  goods,  nor  imported 
lahor."1  They  raised  flax  and  wool,  and,  with  the 
spinning-wheel  and  loom,  manufactured  the  wear- 
ing apparel  and  household  goods,  and  so  sure  as 

'•  Man  wants  but  little  here  below, 
Nor  wants  that  little  long," 


COACH,   CANAL,   AND  STEAMBOAT   ERA.  275 

the  average  citizen  felt  amply  supplied  with  the 
necessaries  of  life,  and  could  not  well  ask  for 
more.  He  plowed  his  little  piece  of  cleared 
ground  with  a  "bull-plow,"  having  a  wooden 
mold-board  and  cast-iron  share  ;  harrowed  in  his 
wheat,  rye,  oats,  and  turnips  with  a  wooden- 
toothed  harrow  ;  dropped  his  corn  by  hand,  and 
covered  it  with  the  hoe.  Every  spring  he  made 


Spinning-Wheel. 

enough  maple-sugar  for  home  consumption,  and 
to  exchange  for  tea,  coffee,  and  salt ;  and  if  he  had 
a  few  spare  bushels  of  grain,  they  were  taken  to 
some  one  of  the  many  copper-stills  scattered  over 
the  country.  And  to  him  there  was  no  encour- 
agement for  the  improvement  in  wealth  of  state 
by  establishing  a  commerce  or  trade  that  would 
sap  the  foundations  of  its  home  industries.  And 
he  feared  for  the  future  prospects  of  the  North- 
west should  the  existing  prohibitory  tariff  be  re- 


270  TIIK    sqriKKKI      HfNTKKS. 

moved  between  the  East  and  West  by  cheap 
transportation,  believing  it  would  destroy  home 
manufactures,  diminish  the  price  of  labor,  and 
produce  "yw//?V.s  and  jumper*"  beyond  stale  abil- 
ity and  charity  to  maintain.  The  "flax-break- 
er's" occupation  would  be  gone  ;  carding-ma- 
chines,  spinning-wheels,  and  looms,  would  no 
longer  be  manufactured  or  used,  and  the  vast 
multitude  of  laborers  carrying  on  these  "infant 
industries"  would  be  thrown  out  of  employment 
and  be  "obliged  to  xt'-nl  or  ,s7r/nv."  Even  the 
young  woman,  who  makes  an  honest  living  by 
spinning  sixteen  "cuts"  daily,  at  fifty  cents  a 
week  and  boarded,  would  be  thrown  upon  the 
cold  embraces  of  the  world,  and  thousands 
of  other  honest  poor  would  be  ruined  for 
want  of  protection  against  such  an  influx  of 
"pauper  labor  and  foreign  manufacture."  And 
the  man  of  one,  i<lra  considered  the  condition  of 
"home  industries,"  under  contemplated  internal 
improvements,  as  discouraging,  as  a  "prospective 
repeal  of  a  protective  tariff." 

As  early  as  1SII7.  Jesse  Ilawley  conceived  the 
idea  of  a  canal  from  the  Hudson  river  to  Lake 
Erie — a  distance  of  three  hundred  and  lil'tv 
miles — believing  it  would  be  a  profitable  invest- 
ment for  the  state  and  nation,  that  it  would  popu- 
late the  North-west  and  establish  important  com- 
mercial relations  with  western  states.  But  the 
newspapers  pronounced  Jesse  "a  crank,"  and  re- 
fused to  make  public  his  thoughts  upon  the  sub- 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA.    277 

ject.  But  this  did  not  change  the  opinions  of 
practical  business  men,  whose  talk  of  canals  and 
intersecting  canals  did  not  meet  with  much  favor 
among  legislators,  which,  perhaps,  represented 
the  sentiments  of  their  constituents.  And  it  took 
nearly  half  as  long  as  it  did  the  people  of  New 
York  to  build  the  Erie  canal,  for  those  of  Ohio 
to  understand  that  a  canal,  commerce  and  free 
trade,  would  increase  labor  and  enrich  a  state. 
And  for  the  timely  commencement  of  the  great 
work  the  people  of  Ohio  are  much  indebted  to 
W.  Steele,  of  Cincinnati,  for  his  trial  surveys 
and  intelligent  letters  upon  the  subject  at  an 
early  day,  when  few  persons  entertained  the 
practicability  of  such  an  undertaking. 

The  following  extracts  from  a  letter  published 
in  the  Olive  Branch,  February  27,  1821,  on  the 
''Project  of  a  Canal/'  is  but  a  fair  specimen  of 
the  philanthropy  of  the  times,  and  says  :  "Noth- 
ing can  be  of  more  importance  to  the  State  of 
Ohio  than  the  making  of  a  navigable  canal  from 
Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio  river.  That  it  is  practica- 
ble to  make  such  canal  admits  not  of  a  doubt. 
Were  it  made,  and  the  Hudson  and  Erie  canal 
finished,  we  should  have  an  easy  and  cheap  high- 
way on  which  to  transport  our  surplus  produce 
to  the  New  York  market.  I  have  had  the  level 
between  the  Scioto  and  the  Sandusky  bay  at 
Lower  Sandusky.  From  the  summit  level  on  the 
most  favorable  route  for  a  canal  that  I  am  ac- 
quainted with,  to  Lower  Sandusky,  the  descent, 


278  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

agreeable  to  the  report  of  Mr.  Farrer,  whom  I 
employed  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  levels,  is 
318  feet.  .  .  .  And  by  the  report  of  the  en- 
gineers employed  by  the  State  of  Virginia,  they 
make  the  Ohio  river  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Kanawha  river  83  feet  lower  than  Lake  Erie.  If 
those  levels  are  to  be  relied  on,  and  we  ascertain 
what  is  the  amount  of  descent  in  the  Ohio  river 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha  to  the 
point  where  the  canal  is  intended  to  communicate 
with  the  Ohio,  we  will  then  know  what  will  be 
the  whole  amount  of  lockage  required.  If  we 
allow  50  feet  for  the  descent,  the  lockage  will  be 
as  follows  :  From  Lake  Erie  to  the  summit  level, 
318  feet ;  and  from  summit  level  to  Ohio  river, 
433  feet ;  making  the  whole  amount,  751  feet.  I 
do  not  know  how  near  this  estimate  is  to  the 
truth,  but  I  am  satisfied  in  my  own  mind  the 
lockage  would  be  between  seven  and  eight  hun- 
dred feet. 

"The  estimate  of  the  commissioners  for  making 
the  New  York  canal  is  $13,800  per  mile.  Owing 
to  the  reduction  in  the  price  of  labor  it  is  found 
it  can  be  made  for  much  less  money.  The  ground 
for  making  a  canal  across  the  State  of  Ohio  is 
much  more  favorable  than  that  over  which  the 
New  York  canal  is  now  making,  Although  there 
would  be  more  lockage  on  the  Ohio  canal  than 
on  the  New  York,  yet  it  is  believed  it  can  be 
made  at  less  expense  than  an  equal  distance  of 
the  New  York  canal.  When  we  take  into  con- 


COACH,   CANAL,   AND    STEAMBOAT    ERA.         279 

sideration  the  low  price  at  which  labor  can  be 
had,  and  the  advantage  to  be  gained  by  the  em- 
ployment of  experienced  engineers  now  employed 
on  the  New  York  canal,  I  think  I  hazard  but 
little  in  saying  that  a  canal  can  be  made  across 
this  state  for  $12,000  a  mile."  ...  "I  am 
aware  that  some  will  say  that  'the  State  of  Ohio 
is  too  young  and  too  poor  to  undertake  this 
mighty  project.'  But  I  deny  that  the  State  of 
Ohio  is  either  young  or  poor.  She  contains  at 
this  time  more  than  500,000  souls,  and  ranks 
fourth  or  fifth  state  in  the  Union.  Can  a  state 
with  such  a  population  (of  industrious  people, 
too)  be  poor?  It  has  been  justly  remarked, 
' That  population  is  power ;  and  industry  is  wealth,"1 
so  I  contend  that  we  are  both  powerful  and  rich. 

';The  inquiry  of  some  will  be,  how  is  the 
money  to  be  raised  to  dig  this  'mighty  ditch?' 
Raise  it  in  the  same  way  New  York  does — bor- 
row it  on  the  credit  of  the  state.  Many  there 
are,  I  have  no  doubt,  who  will  doubt  whether 
money  can  be  borrowed  on  the  credit  of  the  state. 
To  such  I  would  say,  go  and  try.  If  we  stand 
at  the  base  of  a  hill  and  look  up,  without  mak- 
ing an  effort  to  ascend,  we  will  never  reach  its 
summit. 

"Although  it  cost  $2,400,000  (to  make  200 
miles) ,  it  might  not  be  necessary  to  borrow  any 
thing  like  that  sum.  The  distribution  of  the 
sum  required  would  go  to  the  people  of  the  state, 
and  give  more  relief  from  their  present  pecuniary 


280  TIIK    SQtTRRKL    IITNTKRS. 

embarrassments  than  can  be  had  from  anv  laws 
emu-tod  for  that  purpose.  As  the  lands  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  canal  belonging  to  the  general 
government  would  be  greatly  enhanced  in  value, 
I  think  it  not  improbable  that  Congress  will 
make  a  donation  to  the  state  of  a  body  of  land 
in  the  vicinity,  so  far  as  it  passes  through  their 
territory  ;  if  so,  it  would  aid  very  much  in  mak- 
ing it. 

"A  member  of  the  House  of  Commons  oner- 
asked  an  eminent  engineer  for  what  purpose  he 
apprehended  'rivers  were  made.'  His  answer 
was  'to  feed  navigable  canals.'  Such  was  the 
opinion  of  a  great  man,  and  such  indeed  must 
have  been  the  opinion  of  many  others,  for  we 
find  canals  in  Great  Britain  in  many  places  run- 
ning parallel  with  navigable  rivers.  Persons  un- 
acquainted Avith  the  cheapness  at  Avhich  goods 
are  transported  on  canals,  are  surprised  Avhen 
they  learn  that  a  ton  weight  can  be  transported 
at  the  rate  of  one  cent  a  mile.  The  illustrious 
Fulton,  but  a  short  time  previous  to  his  death, 
gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  goods  could  be  trans- 
ported on  the  New  York  canal,  Avhen  completed, 
at  the  rate  of  one  cent  a  ton  per  mile.  We  find 
him  supported  in  this  by  Col.  C.  G.  Haines.  cor- 
responding secretary  to  the  New  York  association 
for  the  promotion  of  internal  improvement. 

"Mr.  Phillips,  in  the  preface  of  his  history  of 
'Inland  Navigation,'  says:  'All  canals  may  be 
considered  as  so  many  roads  of  a  certain  kind  on 


COACH,   CANAL,   AND    STEAMBOAT    ERA.          281 

which  one  horse  will  draw  as  much  as  thirty 
horses  do  on  ordinary  turnpike  roads, 
and  the  public  would  be  great  gainers  were  they 
to  lay  out  upon  making  every  mile  of  canal 
twenty  times  as  much  as  they  expend  upon 
making  a  mile  of  turnpike  road. '  And  Sutcliff,  in 
his  treatise  on  canals,  says  :  'That  within  the 
last  twenty-five  years  there  has  been  expended  on 
canals  in  England  more  than  one  hundred  and 
thirty  million  dollars.'  A  country  is  never 
made  poor  by  making  internal  improvements, 
even  if  the  people  are  taxed  to  make  them.  If 
money  be  taken  from  the  people,  it  is  again  paid 
out  among  them,  and  kept  in  circulation. 

"When  the  canals  through  Ohio  and  New  York 
are  finished,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  surplus  produce  of  all  the  country 
watered  by  the  Ohio  and  its  tributary  streams 
above  the  falls,  would  pass  through  them  to  the 
New  York  market.  That  it  would  be  to  the  in- 
terest of  every  shipper  to  give  the  preference  to  New 
York  is  obvious.  .  .  .  The  amount  of  produce 
that  perishes  on  the  way  and  at  New  Orleans 
every  fifteen  years,  would  itself  more  than  pay 
for  building  a  canal  across  the  State  of  Ohio. 
Dining  the  spring  tides,  when  the  principal  part 
of  the  produce  of  the  western  country  is  carried 
to  New  Orleans,  that  market  is  glutted,  and  the 
shipper  is  very  often  pleased  at  being  able  to 
24 


282  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

return  home  with  half  the  money  his  cargo  cost 
him. 

'"If  Mr.  Fulton's  estimates  as  to  the  expenses  at 
which  goods  can  be  transported  on  canals  be  cor- 
rect, the  expenses  of  transporting  a  barrel  of 
flour  to  the  City  of  New  York  (allowing  ten 
barrels  for  a  ton) ,  will  be  as  follows  : 

From  Ohio  river  to  Lake  Erie,  200  m.      .  20c 

Down  the  lake,  2GO  m 20c 

New  York  canal,  353  m 35c 

Down  the  Hudson,  160  m 15c 

"Total  nine  hundred  and  seventy-three  miles  for 
ninety  cents.  To  this  must  be  added  the  tollage 
of  both  canals.  The  lowest  rate  at  which  flour 
at  present  is  freighted  to  New  Orleans  from  the 
falls  is  $1.25  per  barrel.  Nor  is  it  probable  that 
the  price  will  be  reduced,  as  the  boat  which  cost 
$100  to  $150  is  generally  thrown  away  at  New 
Orleans,  or  sold  for  a  sum  not  exceeding  the 
tenth  part  of  their  cost. 

"It  will  be  recollected,  that  while  our  produce 
is  carried  to  New  York  at  the  cheap  rate  quoted 
above,  that  our  foreign  goods  can  be  brought 
through  the  same  channel  at  the  same  rates,  from 
sixty-seven  cents  to  one  dollar  and  twelve  cents 
per  ton.  More  or  less  of  these  goods  the  people 
will  have,  and  the  cheaper  the  rates  at  which 
they  can  be  furnished,  the  better  for  the  country. 
And  besides,  it  must  be  recollected  if  they  are 
brought  across  the  mountains,  by  way  of  Pitts- 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA.    283 

burg,  or  from  New  Orleans  by  way  of  the  Miss- 
issippi and  Ohio,  that  the  expense  of  transpor- 
tation is  paid  to  citizens  of  other  states  ;  if  brought 
oyer  the  Ohio  canal,  the  money  sayed  in  the  state 
thereby,  would,  in  twenty  fiye  years,  amount  to 
more  than  the  whole  cost  of  the  canal. 

"It  must  be  admitted  that  the  risk  on  the  canal 
and  lake  is  much  less  than  on  the  Ohio  and  Miss- 
issippi, and  the  time  required  to  carry  the  pro- 
duce that  way  much  less.  By  turning  the  trade 
from  New  Orleans  to  New  York,  we  would  saye 
thereby  the  liyes  of  many  of  our  most  enterprising 
and  useful  citizens,  who  would  otherwise  fall 
yictims  to  the  diseases  of  the  lower  Mississippi. 
The  State  of  Kentucky  has  lost  more  of  her  citizens 
by  the  New  Orleans  trade  within  the  last  fifteen 
years  than  she  lost  by  the  late  war,  and  it  is 
known  she  bled  at  eyery  pore. 

"Lateral  canals  may  be  made  from  the  main 
canals  in  many  places,  which  will  serye  to  collect 
to  the  main  canal  the  rich  products  of  the  soil 
through  which  they  pass,  and  at  the  same  time 
afford  means  of  furnishing  the  country  with  many 
of  the  necessities  of  life  at  prices  greatly  below 
what  they  now  cost  without  the  canal.  I  will 
only  name  the  article  of  salt,  which  by  means  of 
the  canal  may  be  furnished  to  people  in  the  inte- 
rior of  the  state  from  the  salines  of  New  York  at 
a  price  but  little,  if  any  thing,  exceeding  fifty 
cents  per  bushel.  It  is  impossible  to  calculate 
the  benefits  that  may  be  deriyed  to  the  people  of 


•J.S-1  TIIK     StjllKUKI.     Ill    NTKKS. 

this   state    by    the    making   of    tlit-    canal.      In   its 
progress    it  will,  no  doubt,  lav  open    rich    beds  of 
minerals.      It  will    lav    us.    as    it    were.  alon<j>ide 
the  Atlantic.      It  will,  in   short,  <•!<  rut>    tli>  chnrnc- 
ti  r  <>t   flu  xtuff,  and  ]>nt  it  half  a  ct/iftiri/  in  advance 
ot    In  r  i  n'<  x<  nt  xitinitinii.  ..... 

"It  only  remains  for  the  legislature  of  Ohio  to 
apply  the  means  within  their  reach  to  accomplish 
this  desirable  object.  When  accomplished,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  but  that  it  will  produce  a  sutli- 
cient  revenue  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the  state 
government.  "W.  STKKI.K. 

"(  'iiH'iniHiti  ,    Oli  in,    IS.'O." 


The  arguments  made  for  internal  improve- 
ments were  good  ;  but  to  the  child  of  nature  such 
talk  became  a  source  of  alarm.  Todestrovthe 
forests  would  diminish  the  game  supplv,  and  he 
soon  began  to  feel  the  count  rv  was  becoming  too 
highly  civilixed  for  good  and  easy  living;  that 
buckskin  breeches  and  tow  ti'owsers  were  already 
being  discarded  for  imported  goods.  And  when 
the  spirit  of  advancing  civilization  came  within 
sight,  he  who  had  no  fence  around  his  cabin,  or 
little  else  besides  sunflowers  or  a  peach  tree  to 
indicate  manual  labor  near  the  unbounded  prem- 
ises, sold  his  land  at  a  small  advance,  and.  with 
familv  and  dogs,  moved  out  to  "Ingiannv." 

Previous  to  1S-JO  the  inhabitants  of  the  North- 
west had  verv  little  prospect  that  agricuhure 
would  ever  be  the  "road  to  ailluence."  The 


COACH,   CANAL,   AND    STEAMBOAT    ERA.          ZOO 

natural  barriers  to  transportation  were  viewed  as 
permanent  obstacles.  A  water-way  was  ridi- 
culed by  high  authority,  which  pronounced  it 
little  short  of  madness,  and  the  newspapers  in 
the  East  had  shown  the  impracticability  ;  and 
the  Western  land-owner  manifested  but  little  dis- 
satisfaction. He  found  his  way  to  this  country 
in  order  to  live,  and  was  happy  in  rinding  enough 
to  make  it  easy.  He  anticipated  but  little  from 
agriculture  as  a  source  of  profit.  In  the  Eastern 
states  it  had  not  given  satisfaction.  But  with  the 
population  increasing  and  foreign  demand  im- 
proving, and  facilities  for  transportation  better, 
things  showed  they  wTere  undergoing  a  change  in 
the  older  states  ;  and  the  markets  were  becoming 
better,  witli  better  management  of  farms  and 
farming,  than  at  any  period  since  colonial  times. 

In  1823  Charles  A.  Goodrich,  of  Hartford, 
Conn.,  wrote:  "Until  within  a  few  years  agri- 
culture, both  as  a  science  and  art,  is  receiving 
much  of  that  attention  which  its  acknowledged 
importance  demands.  It  is  beginning  to  be  re- 
garded, as  it  should  be,  not  only  as  the  basis  of 
subsistence  and  population,  but  as  the  parent  of 
individual  and  national  opulence.'' 

At  this  date  corn  was  selling  to  feeders  at  six 
cents  per  bushel  in  Ohio,  and  wheat  at  twenty- 
five  cents.  But  a  few  years  later  agriculture  in 
the  North-west  was  beginning  to  be  regarded  as 
the  "basis  of  subsistence  and  parent  of  individ- 
ual and  national  opulence,"  also. 


28G  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

The  idea  of  a  prospective  market  for  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  soil,  that  would  well  remunerate 
the  labor  of  production,  was  already  being  felt, 
and  creating  an  enthusiasm  and  preparation  for 
farming  on  a  larger  scale.  Labor  was  plenty  and 
wages  fair,  and  the  work  of  destruction  of  tim- 
ber and  increasing  the  acreage  for  cultivation 
went  on  rapidly.  Large  areas  were  deadened 
to  facilitate  the  removal,  and  the  sunshine  in 
many  places  found  its  way  to  earth,  where  it  had 
been  excluded  for  ages.  And  the  common  squir- 
rel hunter  soon  underwent  an  expansion  of  char- 
acter that  led  on  to  eminence  in  agriculture,  art, 

o 

science,  commerce,  courts,  congress,  and  cabinet. 
The  things  said  and  done  caused  the  legislature, 
in  1822,  to  pass  an  act  authorizing  the  employment 
of  engineers  to  examine  and  report  the  "practica- 
bility of  making  a  canal  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio 
river  ;  and  in  1825,  after  four  years  of  the  most 
arduous  labor  and  discussion,  the  work  was  de- 
termined upon,  and  Governor  De  Witt  Clinton 
and  others,  among  whom  were  Solomon  Van 
Renssalaer,  of  Albany,  and  United  States  Judge 
Conkling  and  Mr.  Lord,  of  New  York,  were  in- 
vited to  be  present  at  the  commencement  of  the 
great  work,  which  was  to  have  its  beginning 
three  miles  west  of  Newark,  July  4,  1825. 

The    people   of    the   entire    state    were    under 

high  excitement  at  the  new  era  which  seemed  ap- 

.  proaching  so  rapidly,  and  acted  quite  differently 

from   what  they  likely  would  at  the  present  day 


COACH,   CAXAL,   AND   STEAMBOAT  ERA.          287 

on  the  commencement  of  a  public  enterprise. 
Then  many  thousands  assembled  to  see  ''The 
Father  of  Internal  Improvements,"  and  to  hear 
what  "the  best-looking  man  the  nation  had  ever 
produced"  had  to  say  on  the  subject  of  which 
he  was  the  reputed  father. 

The  time  was  near  at  hand,  and  on  the  arrival  of 
the  great  Governor  of  New  York  at  Cleveland,  the 
ovation  was  grand  ;  he  was  welcomed  by  Governor 
Morrow,  state  legislature,  officials,  military  or- 
ganizations, and  by  the  people.  And  flags,  and 
guns,  and  noisy  display  were  beyond  the  power 
of  description.  And  before  the  sun  had  risen, 
July  4,  1825,  every  thoroughfare  to  Newark  was 
crowded  with  all  kinds  of  loaded  vehicles  ;  men 
and  women  on  horseback,  and  men,  women,  and 
children  on  foot — many  of  whom  had  traveled 
all  night  in  order  to  reach  the  appointment  on 
time.  And  the  wonder  Avas,  where  all  the  im- 
mense, uncounted,  and  unaccountable  mass  of 
human-beings  came  from. 

The  day  was  fair  and  the  air  cool  and  balmy, 
as  Ohio  atmosphere  is  after  recent  July  showers. 
Newark  at  this  time  had  less  than  one  thousand 
inhabitants,  but  the  country  surrounding  was 
amply  large  to  accommodate  the  crowd  which 
desired  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  man  whose 
influence,  energy,  ability,  and  perseverance  were 
able  to  advance  civilization,  at  once,  half  a  cen- 
tury, by  the  magic  wand  of  public  improvements. 
And  when  Governor  Clinton's  carriage  appeared 


288  TPIE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

on  the  public  square  at  Newark,  thousands  of 
voices  rent  the  air  with  loud  and  long  huzzas  of 
welcome  ;  and  to  which  was  added,  the  firing  of 
one  hundred  guns.  And  the  immense  procession 
at  once  began  moving  for  the  spot  prepared  for  the 
ceremony  of  the  ".s-pode  and  barrow,1'  three  miles 
in  the  country.  Governor  Clinton  took  the  first 
spadeful  amid  the  enthusiastic  shouts  of  thou- 
sands. The  Ohio  Governor,  squirrel  hunter, 
statesman,  and  farmer,  next  sunk  the  implement 
its  full  depth.  And  so  from  one  to  another  the 
spade  passed,  until  the  wheel-barrow  could  hold 
110  more,  and  was  taken  to  the  designated  dump 
by  Captain  Ned  King,  of  Chillicothe,  amid  one 
wild,  indescribable,  and  continuous  cheering. 

Hon.  Thomas  Ewing  was  orator  of  the  day, 
and  when  the  Governor  of  New  York  attempted 
his  reply,  the  bursts  of  applause  were  so  great 
he  was  obliged  to  pause, "and  being  unaccustomed 
to  such  demonstrations  and  tokens  of  respect,  shed 
tears  in  the  presence  of  his  worshipers."  After 
the  addresses  the  entire  audience,  estimated  at 
not  less  than  ten  thousand,  dined  in  the  shade  of 
the  wide-spreading  beech  trees,  the  underbrush 
having  been  cleared  off  from  several  acres  for 
the  purpose,  and  seats  arranged  and  tables  spread 
with  a  sumptuous  dinner  for  all,  furnished  by  the 
liberality  of  one  man,  Goetleib  Steinman,  of 
Lancaster,  Ohio. 

The  regular  toasts  were  limited  to  thirteen, 
but  the  volunteers  were  still  going  on  when  the 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA. 

editor  of    the   Olive   Branch   retired  late  in  the 
evening. 

1.  General  George  Washington. 

2.  The  President  of  the  United  States. 

3.  The  Governor  of  Ohio. 

4.  The  man  who  guided  by  the  unerring  light 
of  science  with  vigorous  and  firm  mind,  has  led 
and  now  leads  his  countrymen  in  the  splendid 
career  of  "internal  improvements" — our  honored 
guest. 

5.  The  great  State  of  Ohio. 

6.  Legislature. 

7.  The  Canal  Commissioners. 

8.  Ohio  Canal — The  great  artery  of  America, 
which  will  carry  vitality  to  all  the  extremities  of 
the  Union. 

9.  State  of  New  York — She  has  given  to   the 
world   a  practical  lesson  what   freemen   can    do 
when  determined  to  secure  their  own  happiness. 

10.  Henry   Clay — the   able    supporter  of    "in- 
ternal improvements." 

11 .  General  Bolivar — The  Washington  of  South 
America. 

12.  The  power  of  free  government. 

13.  The  fair  sex  of  our  country- — In  prosperity 
the  partners  of  our  joys,    and  in   adversity  our 
greatest  solace. 

VOLUNTEER — 

By  De  Witt  Clinton— The  Ohio  Canal— A  fount- 


2UO 


THK 


IICNTKKS. 


ain  of  wealth,  a  chain  of  union,  a  dispenser  of 
glory. 

By  General  Van  Rensalaer — The  memory  of 
General  Wayne — By  his  sword,  the  way  was 
cleared  for  the  settlement  of  the  country. 

By  I.  Johnston — National  Improvements — A 
lit  subject  for  national  pride. 

By  Win.  Lord — Thomas  Jefferson — A  man  with 
one  mistake. 


Canal  Era.     1S25. 

The  4th  of  July,  l<S'2f>,  only  a  few  months 
prior  to  the  completion  of  the  New  York  Canal, 
machinery  was  put  in  motion  to  rcvolye  until  the 
end  of  time.  On  this  day  the  policy  of  the  state 
government  in  favor  of  internal  improvements 
was  permanently  inaugurated.  Even  the  few 
opposing  minds  of  those  who  had  never  seen  the 
walls  of  China,  hut  wished  to  maintain  the  state 
secluded  from  the  commercial  world  by  means  of 
the  high  tariff  (the  barriers  nature  had  vouch- 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA.    291 

safed  to  the  inhabitants) ,  weakened  in  their  ideas 
of  "home  protection,"  or  at  once  became  favor- 
able to  the  doctrine  of  reciprocity,  which  at  that 
early  date  was  the  "soft"  or  synonym  for  free 
trade.  And  when  it  became  satisfactorily  demon- 
strated that  improvements  would  increase  the 
amount  and  price  of  labor,  as  well  as  the  values 
of  its  products,  such  individuals  changed  to  vo- 
ciferous advocates  of  a  canal,  saying:  "If  the 
canal  can  secure  such  prices  for  the  products  of 
the  soil,  and  in  return  furnish  foreign  cheap  sup- 
plies, we  can  afford  to  abandon  looms  and  spin- 
ning-wheels, and  let  supply  and  demand  take 
care  of  themselves."  And  the  energetic  boards 
of  construction  were  unanimously  supported  by 
the  people,  and  soon  completed  eight  hundred 
miles  of  canals  and  one  thousand  miles  of  toll- 
roads,  with  a  disbursement  of  over  fifteen  million 
dollars,  borrowed  money.  The  state,  however, 
suffered  no  inconvenience  on  this  account  ;  its 
credit  was  good,  and  all  that  was  necessary  to 
obtain  funds  as  fast  as  needed  was  to  call  upon 
the  Lord  who  came  to  Ohio  with  Governor  Clin- 
ton at  the  opening. 

Among  the  multitude  of  great  men  assembled 
on  this  occasion,  no  one  did  more  or  was  nearer 
and  dearer  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  than  the 
man  who  mastered  mathematics,  Greek,  Latin, 
and  law,  while  a  "hireling"'  at  the  Kanawha  Salt 
Works  ;  the  man  who  did  his  reading  at  night  by 


292  THK    SQUIRREL    IirNTKRS. 

tlie  light  of  the  furnace  or  a  "log-cabin  lumin- 
ary," a  lard  lamp;  the  man  who  received  the 

first  collegiate  degree  of 
A.M.  ever  issued  in  the 
North-west  ;  the  orator 
of  the  day,  Hon.  Thomas 
Ewing.  No  such  univer- 
sal and  intense  enthusi- 
asm was  ever  before,  or 
again  will  be,  so  over- 

whelminglv    manifested 
Log-Cabin  Luminary. 

in   Ohio   as  that  of  the 

opening  of  the  canals  ;  no  other  object  for  public 
demonstration  is  likely  will  ever  approach  it  in 
importance. 

Governor  Clinton  and  party  were  escorted  from 
Newark  to  Columbus  by  the  state  militia,  legisla- 
lature,  county  and  state  officers  and  eminent 
citizens.  And  in  reply  to  Governor  Morrow's  re- 
ception, Governor  Clinton  said  : 

"I  find  myself  at  a  loss  for  language  to  express 
my  profound  sense  of  the  distinguished  notice 
taken  of  me  by  the  excellent  chief  magistrate  of 
this  powerful  and  flourishing  state,  and  by  our 
numerous  and  respected  fellow  citizens  assembled 
in  this  place,  I  feel  that  my  service's  have  been 
greatly  overrated,  but  I  can  assure  you  that 
your  kindness  has  not  fallen  on  an  ungrateful 
heart — that  I  most  cordially  and  sincerely  recip- 
rocate your  friendly  sentiments,  and  that  any 
agency  I  may  have  had  in  promoting  the  cardinal 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA.    293 

interests  to  which  you  have  been  pleased  to  refer, 
has  been  as  sincere  as  it  lias  been  disinterested. 

"When  Ohio  was  an  applicant  for  admission 
into  the  Union,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to  have  it 
in  my  power,  in  co-operation  with  several  distin- 
guished friends,  most  of  whom  are  now  no  more,  to 
promote  her  views  and  to  assist  in  elevating  her 
from  a  territorial  position  to  the  rank  of  an  in- 
dependent state.  This  was  an  act  of  justice  to 
her  and  duty  of  high  obligation  on  our  part.  At 
that  early  period  I  predicted,  and  indeed  it  re- 
quired no  extraordinary  sagacity  to  foresee,  that 
Ohio  would  in  due  time  be  a  star  of  the  first 
magnitude  in  the  federal  constellation  ;  that 
she  contains  within  her  bosom  the  elements  of 
greatness  and  prosperity,  and  that  her  population 
would  be  the  second,  if  not  the  first,  in  the  con- 
federacy. 

"The  number  of  your  inhabitants  at  the  next 
census  will  probably  exceed  a  million.  Cultiva- 
tion of  the  soil  has  advanced  with  gigantic  strides 
— your  fruitful  country  is  teeming  with  plenty, 
and  has  a  vast  surplus  beyond  your  consumption 
of  all  the  productions  of  agriculture.  Villages, 
towns  and  settlements  are  springing  up  and  ex- 
tending in  all  directions,  and  the  very  ground  on 
which  we  stand,  but  a  few  years  ago  a  dreary  wil- 
derness, is  now  a  political  metropolis  of  the  state, 
and  the  residence  of  knowledge,  elegance  and 
hospitality. 

' '  I  have  considered  it  my  solemn  duty  in  concur- 


'2(.'4  THK    StjriKKKI.    lirNTKKS. 

re-nce1  with  your  worthy  chief  magistrate,  your  very 
able  canal  hoard  of  finance  and  superintendence, 
and  other  patriotic  and  enlightened  citixens  of 
this  state,  to  furnish  all  the  resources  in  my 
power  in  aid  of  the  great  system  of  internal 
navigation  so  auspiciously  commenced  on  the 
fifteenth  anniversary  of  our  national  indepen- 
dence. 

''This  is  a  cause1  in  which  everv  citi/en  and 
every  state  in  our  countrv  is  deeplv  interested; 
for  the  work  will  he  a  great  centripetal  power 
that  will  keej)  the  states  within  their  federal 
orbits — and  an  adamantine  chain  that  will  bind 
the  Union  together  in  the  most  intimate  connec- 
tion of  interests  and  communication.  It  there- 
fore secures,  not  only  the  prosperity  of  Ohio, 
but  the  union  of  the  states  and  the  consequent 
blessings  of  free  government  ;  and  now  I  think 
it  my  duty  to  declare  that  I  have1  the  utmost  con- 
fidence in  the  practicability  of  the  undertaking, 
and  the  economy  and  ability  with  which  it  will 
be  executed.  In  five1  years  it  may,  and  will  be- 
completed,  in  all  probability,  and  I  am  clearly  of 
the1  opinion,  that  in  two  years  after  the1  ceMistruc- 
tie>n  of  this  work,  it  will  produe-e  an  annual 
revenue  of  at  legist  a  million  dollars,  and  hope 
this  remark  may  now  be1  noted,  if  any  thing  I  say 
shall  be'  deemeel  worthy  of  particular  notie-e,  in  or- 
eler  that  its  accuracy  may  bev  te'ste'd  by  experience. 

"I  beg  you,  sir,  te>  accept  the  assurance  of  my 
high  respect  for  your  private-  and  public  services, 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA.    295 

and  to  feel  persuaded  that  I  consider  your  appro- 
bation and  the  approbation  of  patriotic  men  an 
ample  reward  for  my  service,  that  a  benevolent 
Providence  may  have  enabled  me  to  render  to  our 
common  country."  * 

From  Columbus  the  party  was  escorted  to 
Springfield,  Dayton,  Hamilton,  and  Cincinnati, 
receiving  public  dinners  and  the  most  extravagant 
and  enthusiastic  demonstrations  of  appreciation 
and  respect  by  thousands  of  citizens.  At  Cin- 
cinnati the  party  were  invited  guests  to  an  enter- 
tainment given  in  honor  of  Henry  Clay. 

While  Governor  Clinton  was  in  Cincinnati, 
he  yielded  to  the  pressing  invitation  to  go  to 
Louisville  and  render  an  opinion  on  the  question 
then  in  dispute  between  Kentucky  and  Indiana, 
as  to  which  side  of  the  river  was  the  better 
adapted  for  a  canal  around  the  falls.  His  de- 
cided opinion  was  in  favor  of  Kentucky,  to  which 
all  parties  assented,  and  the  canal  was  constructd 
accordingly. 

On  returning  home,  the  Governor  passed 
through  Portsmouth,  Piketon,  Chillieothe,  Circle- 
ville,  Lancaster,  Summit,  and  Zanesville,  via 
Pittsburgh,  receiving  every-where  the  most  distin- 
guished attention. 

All  business  for  the  time  was  suspended.  He 
and  his  party  were  every-where  treated  as  Ohio's 
invited  guests  ;  and  the  Governor  was  attended 


*  Editor  "  Olive  Branch  "  (No.  2). 


21)0  TIIK    S^riliRKI.    1HNTKKS. 


by  all  the  county  officers,  ominont  citizens,  and 
multitudes  to  the  next  county  line,  where  a  like1 
escort  was  in  waiting  with  the  best  liverv  the 
country  could  produce;  halting  at  each  eountv 
town,  for  a  grand  reception,  ornamented  with 
speeches,  toasts,  flags,  and  firearms. 

Thus  the  benefactor  of  the  nation  passed  from 
one  county  to  another,  across  a  great  state,  and 
as  soon  as  the  advance-guard  came  in  sight  of 
any  town,  the  bells  of  all  the  churches,  public 
buildings,  and  hotels,  gave  their  long  and  merry 
peels  of  welcome  —  the  cannon  roared  and  a  vast 
crowd  of  waiting  citizens  of  town  and  country 
marched  forward  with  huzzas  and  banners  of 
''Welcome  —  welcome  —  to  the  Father  of  Internal 
Improvements/' 

The  following  extract,  written  at  the  time  bv 
a  cool-headed  representative  of  the  state,  is  ex- 
pressive without  coloring  or  exaggeration  : 

"The  grave  and  the  gay,  the  man  of  gray 
hairs  and  the  ruddy-faced  youth  ;  matrons  and 
maidens,  and  even  lisping  children,  joined  to  tell 
his  worth,  and  on  his  virtues  dwell  ;  to  hail  his 
approach  and  welcome  his  arrival.  Every  street. 
where  lie  passed,  was  thronged  with  multitudes, 
and  the  windows  were  filled  with  the  beautiful 
ladies  of  Ohio,  waving  their  snowy  white  hand- 
kerchiefs, and  casting  flowers  on  the  pavement 
where  he  was  to  pass  on  it.'' 

No  king,  emperor,  president,  or  statesman  ;  no 
manufacturer  of  personal  or  political  enthusiasm. 


BOATS,   CANAL,   AND    STEAMBOAT    P^RA.  297 

even  of  palace-car  order,  ever  obtained  that  in- 
tensity and  spontaneous  manifestation  as  was 
shown  "The  Father  of  Internal  Improvements," 
on  his  passage  through  the  state. 

And  it  is  yet  a  sorrowful  reflection  to  memory, 
that  such  magnetism,  ability,  and  influence  for 
good  did  not  live  to  see  the  Lake  Erie  and  Ohio 
Canal  completed;  that  his  life's  sacrifices,  in 
physical  and  mental  efforts  for  the  advancement 
of  civilization  in  the  North-west,  have  been  so 
soon  almost  forgotten.  But  more  ;  that  his  good 
works  should  have  been  so  cheaply  recognized  at 
his  death  by  a  state  he  had  enriched  by  making 
himself  so  poor.  But  it  is  never  too  late  to  be 
just,  nor  too  long  to  right  a  wrong. 

About  this  time,  an  era  of  "prosperity"  had  al- 
ready dawned  in  the  East,  and  was  heralded  from 
mouth  to  mouth — from  the  Ohio  river  to  Lake 
Michigan — that  the  "Erie  Canal"  was  completed, 
and  the  first  fleet  of  boats  left  the  Hudson,  Octo- 
ber 26,  1825,  laden  witli  emigrants  for  the  North- 
west. 

On  the  banners  this  fleet  carried  were  the  sig- 
nificant words,  "The  Star  of  Empire  Westward 
Takes  its  Way,"  and  the  cannons  were  heard 
and  answered  from  Buffalo  to  New  York  City. 

This  canal  proved  a  success  even  beyond  the 
expectations  of  the  most  sanguine  ;  and  a  line  of 
commerce  was  at  once  established  from  tide-water 
to  the  western  chain  of  lakes,  and  soon  filled  the 
new  states  with  population  and  their  ports  with 


THK    SiJl'IKRKI,    llfNTKKS. 

merchandise.  And  the  Ohio  protectionist,  who 
had  been  so  fearful  of  an  influx  of  ''pauper  la- 
bor" and  the  products  of  "/o/v/f///  indnxtrics," 
found  his  own  state,  while  discussing  it.  ready 
to  disburse  fifteen  million  dollars  for  day  labor  in 
the  construction  of  internal  improvements.  And 
the  Squirrel  Hunter,  whose  life  was  one  of  edu- 
cation, development,  power,  and  progress,  hailed 
with  delight  the  opportunity  to  work  on  the  Lake 
Erie  canal,  twenty-six  dry  days  of  twelve  hours 
each,  for  the  sum  of  eight  dollars.  It  was  the 
first  privilege  ever  offered  in  Ohio  to  obtain  so 
much  money  in  so  short  time,  without  encroach- 
ment upon  his  store  of  squirrel  and  coon  skins. 

In  1824,  the  year  before  the  completion  of  the 
Erie  canal,  prices  of  produce  still  ranged  low  : 
twenty-five  cents  for  wheat  and  six  cents  for 
corn,  with  no  market  or  demand  excepting  for 
making  whisky  with  copper  stills.  But  when 
the  Erie  canal  was  finished  and  the  Ohio  and 
Lake  Erie  tinder  way,  prices  on  all  kinds  of 
produce  advanced  more  than  two  hundred  per 
cent,  with  such  an  unlimited  demand  that  the 
improvements  converted  every  bodv  into  favor 
Avith  public  works.  And  times  became  better  in 
Ohio  than  ever  before — corn  advanced  to  forty 
and  fiftv  cents  and  wheat  to  seventy-live  and 
one  dollar  per  bushel;  and  with  the  state  distri- 
bution of  millions  of  money,  and  her  rich  and 
productive  soil,  she  was  lifted  out  of  the  groove 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  KRA.    299 

of  idle  content  into  the  bright  sunshine  of  pros- 
perity and  improvement. 

It  soon  became  manifest  that  internal  improve- 
ments increased  the  demand  and  prices  of  the 
products  of  the  soil,  with  a  diminution  in  value 
of  most  all  kinds  of  manufactured  articles  used  in 
exchange.  The  salines  of  New  York  killed  the 
salt  manufacture  in  Ohio  as  effectually  as  free 
trade  did  the  business  of  the  wheelwright,  the 
reelwright,  the  manufacturer  of  looms,  reeds, 
flyers,  hackles,  plows,  nails,  and  other  "infant 
industries."  All  were  ended  by  the  canal;  and 
a  man  or  boy  who  desired  a  new  hat  had,  no 
longer  than  1S25,  to  go  to  a  ''Jiat  sJiop"1  and  have 
his  head  measured  with  a  tape-line,  and  diagram 
registered,  with  full  directions  of  minor  matters — 
material,  color,  and  price — and  then  wait  the 
making. 

By  means  of  the  New  York  canal,  peddlers 
were  offering  for  sale  almost  every  thing  enjoyed 
in  the  East,  "at  unprecedented  low  prices  ;"  and 
even  the  meridian  mark  in  the  south  doorway 
was  of  no  use  any  longer,  except  to  regulate  a 
Yankee  clock.  These  Connecticut  time-pieces 
were  distributed  to  nearly  every  resident  land- 
holder in  the  state  at  sixty  dollars  or  less,  on  a 
year's  credit,  in  the  form  of  a  note  with  six  per 
cent  interest — a  clock  that  cost  the  peddler  two 
dollars  and  fifty  cents  at  a  New  England  factory. 

Traveling  merchants  of  all  kinds  nocked  into 
the  North-west  like  squirrels  at  moving  time, 


T1IK     SQriRRKr.    lir.NTKKS. 

and  tlio  epidemic  struck  Pennsylvania  so  disas- 
trously that  the  Hon.  John  Andrew  Schultz,  at 
the  time  governor  of  that  state,  is  reported  as 
having  memorialized  the  legislature  for  a  law 
preventing  this  class  of  non-residents  from  per- 
ambulating the  country,  selling  articles  of  no 
value,  and  often  base  counterfeits  of  things  of 
domestic  use,  saying  that  in  his  neighborhood, 
''They  were  palming  oil'  counterfeit  basswood 
nutmegs,  when  every  body  knows  the  genuine 
are  made  of  sassafrac." 

The  opening  of  the  canal  trade  gave  interest 
and  amusement  to  thousands  of  persons.  On  the 
day  appointed  citizens  came  long  distances  to 
witness  the  filling  of  the  ditch  with  water,  and 
the  floating  of  boats  as  they  came  along  in  the 
pride  of  the  names  they  bore  in  honor  of  favor- 
ite citizens  living  along  the  line,  as  "The  James 
Howe,"  "The.  Dr.  Coats,'1  "The  James  Emmitt," 
''The  Sam  Campbell,''  "The  General  AVorthing- 
ton,"  etc.,  lettered  in  gold,  all  of  which  was 
purely  complimentary  to  the  individual,  and  not 
thought  of  as  an  advertising  dodge,  although  it 
may  have  suggested  afterwards  its  advantages  in 
this  line  to  members  of  the  Board  of  Public. 
Works. 

The  remarkable  advancement  in  the  prosperity 
of  the  state  resulting  from  the  canals  exceeded 
the  expectations  of  their  best  friends  so  far  that 
it  will  probably  ever  remain  as  the  most  notable 
era  in  the  history  of  the  state.  Increased  pros- 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA.    30  L 

perity  and  rising  civilization  advanced  step  by 
step.  From  the  pack-saddle  to  the  freight-wagon, 
stage-eoach,  canal-boat,  steamboat  and  railroad, 
each  served  or  is  serving  a  good  purpose  in  the 
elevation  of  the  social,  intellectual  and  moral 
faculties  of  American  citizens. 

From  the  organization  of  the  state  until  the  in- 
troduction of  canals  and  railroads,  inland  trans- 
portation of  merchandise  and  travel  was  clone  by 


Ohio  Stage  Coach. 

means  of  stage-coaches  and  freight-wagons.  The 
coaches  were  stoutly  constructed,  with  leather 
suspensions  for  springs,  with  inside  dimensions 
for  nine  persons,  and  somewhat  like  a  Chicago 
street-car — enough  room  outside  for  all  who  were 
able  to  find  a  place  to  "hang  on."  At  the  rear 
each  coach  was  provided  with  a  capacious  boot 
for  the  accommodation  of  Saratoga  trunks  and 
U.  S.  mail-bags.  The  driver  had  an  elevated 
outside  seat  in  front,  and  proudly  pulled  the 
strings  on. four  spirited  horses,  which  were  driven 
in  relavs  of  ten  miles,  and  under  favorable  cir- 


TIIK    SCjriKKKL    HTXTKHS. 

cumstances  would,  in  this  way,  make  eight  miles 
an  hour,  including  stops  for  changes,  and  times 
of  arrival  and  depart ui'e  at  the  stations  were 
very  puntually  made  on  good  roads. 

Often  it  became  amusing  to  see  how  easy  a 
good-hearted  driver  who  loved  his  team,  as  many 
drivers  did,  could  favor  it  by  letting  the  horses 
walk  up  each  little  ascent,  hut  when  in  sight  of 
the  change  would  blow  the  horn  and  crack  the 
whip,  and  go  in  Hying,  with  a  mark  "behind 
time"  for  the  next  driver  and  relay  to  make  up. 
But  the  ''make  tip"  seldom  came,  and  it  was 
nothing  unusual  in  a  distance  of  two  hundred 
miles  to  rind  the  coaches  fifteen  to  twenty  hours 
behind  the  schedule  time. 

There  were  no  improved  roads  north  of  Colum- 
bus for  nearly  fifty  years,  and  during  the  wet 
season,  or  thawing  of  the  fro/en  road-bed,  stag- 
ing became  slow  and  laborious.  If  not  mixed 
with  pleasure,  it  was  the  only  means  of  inland 
intercourse  of  a  public  character  the  inhabitants 
could  look  to. 

Charles  Dickens,  on  his  way  from  Columbus, 
Ohio,  to  Buffalo.  N.  Y..  rid  Sandtisky  City,  in 
18-4'2.  accurately  describes  the  roughness  of  trav- 
eling by  stage-coach  and  the  jolting  of  the  cordu- 
rov  roads  over  bogs  and  swamps,  and  says:  "At 
length,  between  ten  and  eleven  o'clock  at  night, 
a  few  feeble  lights  appeared  in  the  distance,  and 
Upper  Sandusky.  an  Indian  village,  where  we 
were  to  stay  till  morning,  lay  before  us.  They 


COACH,  CANAL.  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA.    303 

were  gone  to  bed  at  the  log  inn.  which  was 
the  only  house  of  entertainment  in  the  place,  but 
soon  answered  our  knocking,  and  got  some  tea 
for  us  in  a  sort  of  kitchen  or  common  room, 
tapestried  with  old  newspapers  pasted  against 
the  wall. 

"The  bed-chamber  to  which  my  wife  and  I  were 
shown  was  a  large,  low,  ghostly  room,  with  a 
quantity  of  withered  branches  on  the  hearth, 
and  two  doors  without  any  fastening,  opposite 
to  each  other,  both  opening  upon  the  black  night 
and  wild  country,  and  so  contrived  that  one  of 
them  always  blew  the  other  open,  a  novelty  in 
domestic  architecture  which  I  do  not  remember 
to  have  seen  before,  and  which  I  was  somewhat 
disconcerted  to  have  forced  on  my  attention  after 
getting  into  bed,  as  I  had  a  considerable  sum  in 
gold  for  our  traveling  expenses  in  my  dressing 
case.  Some  of  the  luggage,  however,  piled 
against  the  panels,  soon  settled  this  difficulty, 
and  my  sleep  would  not  have  been  very  much 
affected  that  night,  I  believe,  though  it  had 
failed  to  do  so. 

'  'My  Boston  friend  climbed  up  to  bed  somewhere 
in  the  roof,  where  another  guest  was  already 
snoring  hugely.  But  being  bitten  beyond  his 
power  of  endurance,  he  turned  out  again,  and 
fled  for  shelter  to  the  coach,  which  was  airing 
itself  in  front  of  the  house.  This  was  not  a  very 
politic  step  as  it  turned  out,  for  the  pigs  scenting 
him,  and  looking  upon  the  coach  as  a  kind  of  pie 


304  TIIK    SijriKKKL    HTNTKRS. 

wi  tli  some  man  ner  of  meat  inside.  gru  n  t  ed  a  round  it 
so  hideously  that  he  was  afraid  to  come  out  again, 
and  lay  there  shivering  till  morning.  Nor  was  it 
possible  to  warm  him.  when  lie  did  come  out, 
by  means  of  a  glass  of  brandy,  for  in  Indian 
villages  the  legislature,  with  a  very  good  and 
wise  intention,  forbids  the  sale  of  spirits  by 
tavern-keepers." 

For  want  of  roads,  traveling  by  coach  was 
slow  and  laborious,  in  all  the  north-western 
states.  In  1840,  the  writer  was  treated  to  a  five 
cents  per  mile  ride  across  the  State  of  Michigan, 
from  Detroit  to  New  Buffalo,  now  Benton  Har- 
bor, on  Lake  Michigan,  a  distance  of  two  hund- 
red miles.  It  was  mid-winter,  but  not  fro/en 
hard,  and  required  nearly  three  days  and  two 
nights  of  joltings  and  fatiguing  monotony.  The 
jovs  felt  on  arriving  in  sight  of  steamboat  navi- 
gation are  still  fresh  in  the  recollections  of  the 
past. 

Stage  coaches  had  their  centers  for  distribution 
in  Columbus.  Cleveland  and  Cincinnati,  and  were 
used  in  the  principal  mail  lines  over  the  state. 
Here  too,  the  African  skin  became  a  perplexing 
question.  The  dictum  of  slavery  had  to  be  re- 
spected. If  a  colored  person  desired  to  be  car- 
ried to  a  given  point,  he  could  prepay  to  such — 
his  money  was  never  refused  on  any  account  : 
but  for  his  color  there  was  no  time-table  of  de- 
parture1 oi1  arrival.  If  no  objections  were  raised 
by  a  passenger,  lie  would  at  once  be  started  on 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA.    305 

his  way  as  an  outside  incumbrance.  But  if  at  any 
time  while  on  the  route,  at  a  station  or  "change," 
a  passenger  should  be  added  who  objected  to 
riding  in  the  same  coach  with  a  "free  nigger," 
as  was  no  unusual  thing,  the  colored  passenger 
would  be  obliged  to  stop  off  and  wait  for  a  coach 
containing  more  liberal  sentiments,  or  take  the 
road  on  foot.  This  treatment  on  all  the  coach 
lines  was  witnessed  so  frequently  that  it  ceased 
to  call  forth  marks  of  disapproval.  The  prin- 
ciple in  a  milder  form  appears  to  have  been 
transferred  from  the  old  stage-coach  to  the  great 
railroad  Cincinnati  built  South,  by  ignoring  the 
constitution  of  the  state,  and  as  some  thought  at 
the  time,  subsidizing  the  Supreme  Court.  On 
this  road  the  American  born  citizen  with  African 
blood,  however  remote  the  descent,  or  great  the 
admixture,  is  refused  admittance  to  coaches  ac- 
corded to  all  other  nationalities.  Why?  it  is 
not  necessary  to  state. 

The  wagons  for  freight  were  large  and  strong, 
and,  having  a  cover  of  white  canvas,  gave  them 
the  name  of  "Prairie  Schooners."  They  were 
usually  drawn  by  six  horses,  and  on  long  routes 
traveled  in  companies  ;  and  trains  could  be  seen 
moving  slowly  along  in  line,  all  laden  with  mer- 
chandise of  the  East,  or  on  their  way  East,  car- 
rying the  products  of  Ohio  industry  to  an  east- 
ern market.  The  style  of  the  "schooner"  and 
the  wagons  themselves  have  "been  out  of  print" 
26 


THK    SQUIURKL    HTNTKRS. 

so  long,  not  one  appeared  on  exhibition  at  the 
Centennial  World's  Fail1.  They  were  all  of  the 
same  pattern,  and  as  "near  alike  as  peas  ;"  dif- 
fering in  every  respect  "roni  the  emigrant  wagon 
of  later  date. 

The  bed  or  body  of  the  "schooner'1  was  formed 
by  a  stout  frame-work  of  the  best  seasoned 
bent-wood,  and  put  together  as  immovable  and 
durable  as  any  railroad  coach  body  of  the  pres- 
ent day.  The  shape,  covering,  etc.,  is  shown  by 


Prairie  Schooner. 

annexed  illustration.  The  teams  were  composed 
of  large  draft-horses.  The  "near1'  wheel-horse 
carried  a  saddle,  in  addition  to  his  harness,  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  driver.  This  saddle- 
horse,  with  the  near  front  animal,  or  "leader," 
constituted  the  managing  horses  of  the  whole 
team.  All  orders  were  given,  as  required,  to 
these  ;  they  were  always  wakeful,  watchful,  and 
obedient.  A  good  leader  and  a  reliable  near 
wheel-horse  were  boastful  prixes  of  their  owners  ; 
and  most  teamsters  in  those  days  owned  their  en- 


COACH,   CANAL,   AND  STEAMBOAT   ERA.          307 

tire  outfits,  and  were  exceedingly  kind  to  their 
animals. 

What-  may  seem  peculiar,  whether  having  four 
or  six  animals  in  the  team,  the  driver  used  only 
a  single  line — one  string  attached  to  the  "leader," 
and  to  him,  with  the  aid  of  the  "  saddle-horse," 
safety  and  correct  actions  of  all  the  members  of 
the  team  were  assured. 

Many  were  the  thousands  of  tons  these  lines 
carried  over  the  mountains.  But  the  tread  of  the 
caravan  and  the  crack  of  the  "black-snake"  * 
were  no  longer  heard  on  the  Alleghanies  after 
the  completion  of  the  Erie  Canal  (in  18'2o)  ;  and 
ceased  entirely  as  a  system  of  transportation  on 
the  operation  of  the  Ohio  Canal  (in  1832) .  The 
"schooners"  and  "Branches  of  the  United 
States  Bank"  wound  up  and  quit  business  in 
Ohio  about  the  same  time.  It  was  an  off  year 
for  political  speculators.  President  Jackson 
vetoed  the  bill  to  renew  the  charter  of  that  mon- 
ster monopoly  entitled  "The  United  States 
Bank,"  an  institution  owned  and  controlled  by 
a  few  wealthy  foreign  and  American  citi/ens, 
who  were  receiving  exclusive  privileges,  favors, 
and  support  from  the  government. 

Ohio  did  not  feel  the  suspension  of  this  great 
monopoly  with  its  thirty-five  millions  so  severely. 
Millions  of  money  had  just  been  distributed  over 
the  state  for  labor  in  the  construction  of  internal 

»  Whip. 


308  THK  SOJTIRRKL  HTNTKRS. 

improvements,  and  with  canals,  conches,  and 
steamboats,  and  agriculture  in  a  flourishing  con- 
dition, the  prosperity  that  seemed  lost  in  the 
ruins  of  speculation  and  bankruptcy,  proved  a 
small  impediment  in  line  of  progress  or  march 
of  empire. 

The  people  did  not  become  idle  or  discouraged  ; 
farming  interests  were  increasing  all  the  time, 
and  more1  attention  was  directed  to  schools  and 
education  than  ever  before  ;  and  civilization  was 
manifestly  and  permanently  on  the  advance. 
Still  the  conditions  of  trade  suffered  serious  em- 
barrassments connected  with  the  unstable  condi- 
tion of  the  currency  or  money  of  the  country. 
Bank-notes  of  one  state  were  at  a  heavy  discount 
in  every  other.  This,  with  bank  and  individual 
failures,  caused  much  inconvenience  for  a  time, 
but  things  soon  grew  better.  Population  and 
aggregate  wealth  of  the  state  increased,  and  in  1S-47 
gave  the  greatest  yield  of  produce  ever  previously 
harvested,  and  which,  owing  to  the  ''Irish  fam- 
ine," was  disposed  of  at  speculation  prices,  and 
the  state  went  on  to  prosperity  and  comparative 
excellence  and  influence. 

The  mass  of  descendants  of  pioneers  in  Ohio 
looked  forward  to  agriculture  as  the  source  of 
subsistence  and  independent  competency.  "Mil- 
lionaire." in  early  days,  was  a  word  seldom 
used,  and  entirely  unknown  in  biography.  The 
pioneer  saw  the  necessity  for  the  promotion  and 
advancement  of  true  civili/ation.  that  everv  citi- 


COACH,  CANAL,  AND  STEAMBOAT  ERA.    309 

ZGII  should  own  a  home — a  place  he  might  call 
his  own — a  place  to  live  and  labor  for  the  good 
of  himself  and  others.  And  not  until  the  intro- 
duction of  the  railroad  president,  private  palace 
cars,  trusts,  combines,  and  transformation  of  the 
public  service  into  party  machines  for  becoming 
suddenly  rich,  did  the  more  observing  recognize 
the  true  estimate  and  sound  brotherhood  existing 
with  the  gold  bags  of  the  nation.  Nor  did  the 
poor  suspect  that  combined  wealth  would  ever 
dream  as  did  the  thirsting  Turk  at  midnight 

O  C71 

hour — "that  Liberty,  her  knee  in  suppliance 
bent,  should  tremble  at  its  power." 


310  TUP:    SiJTIRRKL     IHNTKRS. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OHIO— HER  RAILROAD   AND   TELEGRAPH    ERA. 


The  canal  era  proved  so  satisfactory  that  people 
took  their  steps  more  rapidly  than  ever  before, 
and  bewail  measuring  the  hours  bv  dollars  and 
cents,  and  the  value  of  life  by  the  amount  of 
labor  performed.  The  feeling  that  something 
should  be  done  to  increase  time  and  diminish 
space  became  universal,  and  not  a  few  pros- 
pecters  had  their  eves  open  for  the  "old  stone" 
that  turned  all  it  touched  to  gold. 

The  application  of  steam  as  the  coming  motor 
power  for  transportation  and  travel  was  pictured 
in  the  minds  of  many  inventors  in  this  countrv  and 
in  Europe;  and  trials  of  engines  and  their  work- 
ing abilities  became  the  all-absorbing  subject  of 
the  times,  and  as  early  as  1835  it  could  be  seen 
that  provincialism  was  passing  away  and  that  the 
citixens  of  Ohio  felt  that  coaches,  wagons  and 
canal-boats  were  too  slow  and  insufficient  for  ad- 
vanced civili/ation. 

The  opening  of  a  road  between  Manchester 
and  Liverpool,  September  15,  1830,  and  one  in 
South  Carolina  the  following  Januarv,  gave  the 


RAILROAD  AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  311 

subject  increased  interest,  although  the  efforts 
were  exceedingly  crude,  and  often  bordering  on 
the  ridiculous.  It  was,  however,  a  problem  that 
had  to  be  worked  out,  and  every  one  having  a 
mind  for  construction  became  a  model  maker  of 
locomotives  and  railroad  tracks.  Even  Peter 
Cooper  built  an  engine  and  named  it  "Tom 
Thumb,"  and  in  his  attempt  to  test  its  superior- 
ity over  horse-power  was  beaten  owing  to  that 
"if"  which  always  catches  the  rear  contestant. 
It  appears  that  in  1830  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
road  had  a  double  track  finished  from  Baltimore 
to  Ellicott's  Mills,  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles,  and 
was  utilized  by  means  of  horse-power.  Mr. 
Cooper,  who  had  built  a  small  locomotive  after 
his  own  mind  to  demonstrate  to  his  own  satisfac- 
tion the  possibilities  of  steam  as  a  motor  power 
on  roads,  after  making  a  number  of  successful 
trips  to  the  mills  and  return,  a  race  was  proposed 
between  "Tom  Thumb"  and  its  light  open  car, 
and  a  car  and  one  horse  of  those  run  by  the  com- 
pany occupying  the  road.  The  race  was  to  start 
at  the  Relay  House  and  end  in  Baltimore,  a 
distance  of  nine  miles. 

On  the  28th  day  of  August,  1830,  just  seven- 
teen days  before  the  Manchester  and  Liverpool 
Exhibition,  the  start  was  made,  and,  as  reported 
at  the  time  : 

"At  first  the  gray  had  the  best  of  it,  for  his 
steam  would  be  applied  to  the  greatest  advantage 
on  the  instant,  while  the  engine  had  to  wait  until 


312  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

the  rotation  of  the  wheels  set  the  blower  to  work. 
The  horse  was  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile  ahead 
when  the  safety  valve  of  the  engine  lifted,  and 
the  thin  blue  vapor  issuing  from  it  showed  an  ex- 
cess of  steam.  The  blower  whistled,  the  steam 
blew  off  in  vapory  clouds,  the  pace  increased  ; 
the  passengers  shouted,  the  engine  gained  on  the 
horse  ;  soon  it  lapped  him  ;  the  silk  was  plied  ; 
the  race  was  'neck-and-neck,  nose-and-nose  ;'  then 
the  engine  passed  the  horse,  and  a  great  hurrah 
hailed  the  victory.  But  it  was  not  repeated,  for 
just  at  this  time,  when  the  gray's  master  was 
about  giving  up,  the  band  which  draws  the  pul- 
ley which  moved  the  blower  slipped  from  the 
drum,  the  safety-valve  ceased  to  scream,  and  the 
engine,  for  want  of  breath,  began  to  wheexe  and 
pant.  While  Mr.  Cooper,  who  was  his  own  engineer 
and  fireman,  lacerated  his  hands  in  vain  attempts 
to  replace  the  band  upon  the  wheel,  the  horse 
gained  on  the  machine  and  passed  it.  and  although 
the  band  was  presently  replaced  and  steam  again 
did  its  best,  the  horse  was  too  far  ahead  to  be 
overtaken,  and  came  in  the  winner  of  the  race." 
The  numerous  excursions,  trial  trips  of  en- 
gines, and  public  demonstrations  made  in  the  in- 

~  A 

terests  of  improvements,  from  1830  to  18-40.  on 
roads  chartered  in  1825-20-27-28,  did  not  inspire 
confidence  as  good  investments.  They  were 
looked  upon  chiefly  as  curiosities,  mixed  with 
"Teat  discomfort  and  danger,  and  received  hux- 

O  c> 

zahs   and   new  patrons   at   each   juncture,    those 


RAILROAD  AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  313 

making  the  trip  one  clay  surrendering  their  places 
with  admiration  to  others,  much  after  the  plan  of 
those  who  took  in  the  curiosity  show  of  the 
horse  "having  his  tail  where  his  head  ought  to 
be.''  A  railroad  excursion  of  governors,  sen- 
ators, judges,  lawyers,  divines,  doctors,  and  other 
good  people — special  guests  of  several  hundred — 
to  ride  on  strap-iron  rails,  housed  in  old  coach 
bodies  or  on  open  platform  boxes,  with  the  bump- 
ing and  jerking  of  trucks  attached  to  each  other 
by  abundance  of  slack  chain,  a  beer-bottle  engine 
and  pine  knots  to  make  steam,  enables  the  imag- 
ination to  see  the  likeness  of  the  unfortunate  col- 
ored fireman  with  respect,  though  a  slave,  for  the 
exhibition  of  a  sense  of  comfort  before,  if  not 
after,  he  "punched  up  the  fire  and  closed  down 
the  lever  to  the  safety-valve  and  sat  upon  it  to 
keep  the  steam  and  smoke  out  of  his  eyes.'1 

While  great  enthusiasm  existed  in  favor  of 
railroads  every-where  during  the  thirties,  the 
moneyed  man  and  the  man  who  desired  to  travel 
with  comfort  regardless  of  time  did  not  take 
much  stock  in  the  enterprise.  And  the  gentle- 
man who  wrote  the  following  in  his  diary  was 
one  of  a  large  class  who  viewed  the  present  as 
complete,  and  that  they  could  not  endure  pleas- 
antly any  discomfort  that  might  repay  to  others 
in  the  future  great  pleasure  : 

"•July  22,  1835. — This  morning  at  nine  o'clock 
I  took  passage  in  a  railroad  car  (from  Boston) 
27 


314  THE    SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

for  Providence.  Five  or  six  other  cars  were  at- 
tached to  the  locomotive,  and  uglier  boxes  I  do 
not  wish  to  travel  in.  They  were  made  to  stow 
away  some  thirty  human  beings  who  sit,  cheek 
by  jowl,  as  best  they  can.  The  poor  fellows  who 
were  not  much  in  the  habit  of  making  their 
toilet  squeezed  me  into  a  corner,  while  the  hot 
sun  drew  from  their  garments  a  villainous  com- 
pound of  smells  made  up  of  salt  rish,  tar  and 
molasses.  By  and  by,  just  twelve — only  twelve 
— bouncing  factory  girls  were  introduced,  who 
were  going  on  a  party  of  pleasure  to  Newport. 
'Make  room  for  the  ladies  !'  bawled  out  the  super- 
intendent. 'Come,  gentlemen,  jump  up  on  the 
top,  plenty  of  room  there.'  'I'm  afraid  the 
bridge  knocking  my  brains  out,'  said  a  passenger. 
Some  made  one  excuse  and  some  another.  For 
my  part,  I  flatly  told  him  that  since  I  belonged 
to  the  Corps  of  Silver  Grays,  I  had  lost  my  gal- 
lantry, and  did  not  intend  to  move.  The  whole 
twelve  were,  however,  introduced,  and  soon  made 
themselves  at  home,  sucking  lemons  and  eating 
green  apples.  The  rich  and  the  poor,  the  edu- 
cated and  the  ignorant,  the  polite  and  the  vulgar, 
all  herd  together  in  this  modern  improvement  in 
traveling.  The  consequence  is  a  complete  amal- 
gamation. Master  and  servant  sleep  heads  and 
points  on  the  cabin  floor  of  the  steamer,  feed  at 
the  same  table,  sit  in  each  other's  laps  as  it  were 
in  the  cars  ;  and  all  this  for  the  sake  of  doing 
very  uncomfortably  in  two  days  what  would  be 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  315 

done  delightfully  in  eight  or  ten.  Shall  we  be 
much  longer  kept  by  this  toilsome  fashion  of 
hurrying,  hurrying,  from  starting  (those  who 
can  afford  it)  on  a  journey  with  our  own  horses, 
and  moving  slowly,  surely  and  profitably  through 
the  country,  with  the  power  of  enjoying  its 
beauty,  and  be  the  means  of  creating  good  inns? 
Undoubtedly  a  line  of  post-horses  and  post- 
chaises  would  long  ago  have  been  established 
along  our  great  roads  had  not  steam  monopolized 
every  thing. 

'"Talk  of  ladies  on  board  a  steamboat  or  in  a 
railroad  car — there  are  none.  I  never  feel  like  a 
gentlemen  there,  and  I  can  not  perceive  a  sem- 
blance of  gentility  in  any  one  who  makes  part  of 
the  traveling  mob.  When  I  see  women  whom, 
in  their  drawing-rooms  or  elsewhere,  I  have  been 
accustomed  to  respect  and  treat  with  every 
suitable  deference — when  I  see  them,  I  say,  el- 
bowing their  way  through  a  crowd  of  dirty  emi- 
grants, or  low-bred  homespun  fellows  in  petti- 
coats or  breeches  in  our  country,  in  order  to 
reach  a  table  spread  for  a  hundred  or  more,  I 
lose  sight  of  their  pretentious  to  gentility,  and 
view  them  as  belonging  to  the  plebeian  herd.  To 
restore  herself  to  her  caste,  let  a  lady  move  in 
select  company  at  five  miles  an  hour,  and  take 
her  meals  in  comfort  at  a  good  inn,  where  she 
may  dine  decently.  After  all  the  old-fashioned 
way  of  five  or  six  miles,  with  liberty  to  dine 
decentlv  in  a  decent  inn,  and  be  master  of  one's 


316  THK    SljriKKKL    HUNTERS. 

movements,  with  the  delight  of  seeing  the 
country  and  getting  along  rationally,  is  the  mode  to 
which  I  cling,  and  which  will  he  adopted  again 
by  the  generations  of  after  times."  * 

Information  in  regard  to  railroading  in  its  true 
sense,  was  circumscribed  to  experiment,  which 
retarded  the  progress  of  improvement.  The  be- 
lief in  lasting  solidity,  making  the  expense  of 
building  the  road-bed  more  than  necessarv,  so 
much  so  that  it  was  estimated  in  the  Eastern 
States,  that  about  ten  miles  a  year  were  all  one 
company  could  properly  construct. 

Most  engineers  at  first  fell  into  the  same  error — 
making  heavy  stone  walls  for  the  road-bed.  The 
blocks  into  which  the  wooden  plugs  were  driven 
for  the  spikes  to  hold  the  rails  were  frequently 
resting  upon  solid  masonry,  four  feet  high  and  two 
and  a  half  feet  wide.  After  done,  it  was  discov- 
ered a  mistake  ;  that  an  inelastic  road-bed  and 
speed  were  incompatible  and  disastrous  to  the 
machinery,  and  the  intelligent  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts, from  the  time  the  iirst  locomotive  was 
put  upon  the  track  (March,  1834)  until  1841, 
had  shown  Irttle  advancement  in  the  proper  ap- 
plication of  steam,  as  well  as  construction  of 
road-beds  and  rails. 

Robert  Fulton  expected  his  discovery  would 
find  its  highest  usefulness  as  a  motive-power  on 
railroads,  as  it  has  done  ;  but  his  brother-in-law 


Recol lections  of  Sumnol  Brock,  pp.  275-7. 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  317 

and  partner  did  not  deem  the  thing  practicable 
as  long  as  the  insuperable  objections  named  ex- 
isted, and  all  attempts  were  passed  to  others,  as 
the  following  letter  shows,  with  dav  and  date  : 

O  *• 

"ALBANY,  March  1st,  1811, 

"Dear  Sir:  I  did  not  until  yesterday  receive 
yours  of  February  25th  ;  where  it  has  been  loit- 
ering on  the  road  I  am  at  a  loss  to  say.  I  had  be- 

o  »/ 

fore  read  of  your  very  ingenious  proposition  as 
to  the  railway  communications.  I  fear,  however, 
on  mature  reflection,  that  they  will  be  liable  to 
serious  objection,  and  ultimately  more  expensive 
than  a  canal.  They  must  be  double,  so  as  to 
prevent  the  danger  of  two  such  bodies  meeting. 
The  walls  on  which  they  are  to  be  placed  should 
at  least  be  four  feet  below  the  surface  and  three 
feet  above,  and  must  be  clamped  with  iron,  and 
even  then  would  hardly  sustain  so  heavy  a  weight 
as  you  propose  moving  at  the  rate  of  four  miles 
an  hour  on  wheels.  As  to  wood,  it  would  not 
last  a  week.  They  must  be  covered  with  iron,  and 
that,  too,  very  thick  and  strong.  The  means  of 
stopping  these  heavy  carriages  without  great 
shock,  and  of  preventing  them  from  running  on 
each  other — for  there  would  be  many  running  on 
the  road  at  once — would  be  very  difficult.  In 
cases  of  accidental  stops  to  take  wood  and  water, 
etc.,  many  accidents  would  happen.  The  car- 
riage of  condensing  water  would  be  very  trouble- 
some. Upon  the  whole,  I  fear  the  expense  would 


318  THK    SQl'IKKKL    Hl'NTKKS. 

bo   much    greater  than    that   of   canals,  without 
being  so  convenient.  R.  R.  LIVINGSTON." 

Ordinary  business  men,  and  even  accomplished 
engineers,  manifested  as  little  knowledge  in  re- 
gard to  the  principles  of  science  in  railroading  as 
they  did  in  regard  to  the  telegraph.  Both  were 
new  fields  for  experiment,  and  both  operators 
made  many  ridiculous  mistakes. 

When  William  ]).  Wesson  announced  he  would 
demonstrate  the  practicability  of  sending  and  re- 
ceiving messages  over  his  wires  stretched  on 
poles  from  Chillicothe  to  Columbus,  and  rice 
versa,  many  persons  had  business  into  the  city  on 
that  day,  but  ostensibly  to  witness  the  wonderful 
performance. 

Early  in  the  morning  advertised  for  free  mes- 
sages, an  honest  patron  of  science  living  on  the 
line  a  short  distance  out  of  town  went  up  one  of 
the  poles  and  hung  a  letter  on  the  wire,  and  se- 
creted himself  in  view  of  the  missive  and  in  vain 
watched  it  all  day,  that  he  might  obtain  the  se- 
cret of  the  process. 

Another  individual  of  inquiring  mind  on  his 
way  to  the  city  boasted  ho  intended  to  know 
before  he  returned  how  the  thing  was  done. 
On  his  way  home  he  was  accosted  by  a  neighbor, 
who  wished  to  know  how  it  was  possible  to  send 
a  message  to  Columbus  with  safety  on  one  of 
those  little  wires.  The  Squire  said  to  himself  'it 
was  no  longer  a  mystery — he  was  a  justice  of  the 


RAILROAD  AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  319 

peace,  and  above  the  average  as  a  lawyer — say- 
ing :  "You  see,  they  have  a  machine  that  rolls 
and  compresses  a  letter  into  a  little  bit  of  an 
oblong  roll,  which  just  fits  into  a  little  brass  cyl- 
inder, and  when  ready  to  send  it  is  pushed  up  to 
a  kind  of  machine  all  full  of  cog-wheels  and 
ticking  clock-work,  and  the  man  at  the  head 
says,  'All  ready — go' — and  he  touches  a  button, 
and  the  electricity  runs  out  on  the  wire,  and 
strikes  the  head  of  the  cylinder  in  which  the  let- 
ter is  placed,  and  it  goes,  chebauy,  to  the  other 
end  of  the  wire,  and  drops  into  a  basket." 

All  this  was  worked  out  by  the  mental  process 
of  the  Squire,  who  actually  believed  he  had  solved 
the  process  of  telegraphing,  as  much  as  the  en- 
gineers did  that  of  railroading  when  they  con- 
structed the  track  of  solid  masonry. 

In  1837,  the  horse-car  running  from  Toledo  to 
Adrian,  Michigan,  on  oak  rails  was  remodeled, 
road-bed  improved  in  grades,  rails  strapped,  an 
engine  to  take  the  place  of  horses,  "and  a  beau- 
tiful new  passenger  coach  to  supply  that  of  the 
old  coach  bodies."  It  was  also  advertised  the 
road  would  be  "running  regularly  on  and  after 
October  1,  1837,"  and  that  the  "speed  would  be 
greatly  increased,  and  would  be  able  to  cany 
passengers  and  the  United  States  mail  at  the 
rate  of  fifteen  miles  an  hour,  making  the  entire 
distance,  thirty  miles,  in  two  hours." 

A  fair  likeness  of  the  new  passenger  coach  is 
here  given,  which,  in  days  of  primitive  railroad- 


320  TIIK    SQFIRRKL    HUNTERS. 

ing,  was  looked  upon  as  a  stop  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. But  this  road  was  soon  obliged  to  again 
suspend  operations,  temporarily,  for  other 
changes — many  discouragements  stood  in  the 
pathway  to  prosperity.  Strap-iron  rails  on  par- 
allel timbers  and  stonemasonry  and  solidity 
proved  failures,  and  the  locomotive  added  no  ad- 
vantage over  the  horse,  as  existing  conditions 


New  Passenger  Car  on  the  Toledo  &  Adrian  Ry.     1837. 

would  not  tolerate  great  velocity,  the  very  thing 
in  chief  that  would  insure  supremacy  over  a 
canal. 

And  England  was  twenty  years  in  search  of  an 
adjustment  of  road  and  machinery  by  which  ve- 
locity could  be  increased  without  an  increase  of 
danger.  But  the  discouragements  were  so  nu- 
merous, many  hopeful  workers  abandoned  the 
field.  Only  six  years  previous  to  George  Stephen- 
son's  locomotive,  "Rocket,"  making  twenty-nine 
and  a  half  miles  in  an  hour,  a  book  was  published 
on  "Railways,"  in  which  the  author  says: 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  321 

''That  nothing  could  do  more  harm  toward  the 
adoption  of  railways  than  the  promulgation  of 
such  nonsense,  as  that  we  shall  see  locomotive 
engines  traveling  at  the  rate  of  twelve,  sixteen, 
eighteen,  and  twenty  miles  an  hour."  * 

This  may  have  been  intended  for  Americans 
as  well  as  Mr.  Stephenson,  for  the  "promulgation 
of  such  nonsense"  did  not  cease,  and  power  and 
speed  increased  with  the  increase  in  size  of  the 
parts  of  the  machinery  insured.  So  rapidly 
was  this  increase,  that  strong  attempts  were 
made  from  time  to  time  to  fix  a  legal  limit  at 
some  point  below  twenty  miles — in  England. 

In  the  United  States,  however,  the  faster  the 
better,  and  from  five  rose  to  fifty,  and  then  be- 
gan looking  around  for  rails  and  road-bed  that 
would  withstand  the  racket. 

All  the  expense  and  experiments  were  not 
thrown  away ;  true,  investments  and  results 
failed  for  many  years  to  inspire  that  confidence 
which  opens  the  money  vaults  of  the  capitalists, 
but,  not  in  the  least  discouraged,  artisans,  scien- 
tists, and  genius,  under  any  and  every  name, 
worked  on  and  on,  and  when  asked  gave  the  coal- 
miner's  answer  to  the  House  of  Commons:  "I 
can't  tell  you  how  I'll  do  it,  but  I  can  tell  you  I 
will  do  it."  The  engineers,  machinists,  and 
model-makers  kept  at  work,  and  so  many  im- 
provements had  been  suggested  to  Peter  Cooper's 


Wood's  book  on  Railroads,  1S25. 


i}'2°2  TIIK    SQUIRKKL    Iir.NTKKS. 

locomotive  tliat  the  first  thing  of  the  kind  that 
liad  ever  been  made  in  the  United  States  became 
transformed  from  a  little  competitor  of  the  horse 
into  a  mammoth  institution  breathing  impatiently 
for  a  track  on  which  might  be  tested  its  speed 
and  wondrous  power. 

The  locomotive  came — the  heavy  iron  rails 
were  in  sight — but  no  one  had  yet  suggested  a 
satisfactory  road-bed  and  rests  for  the  rails.  It  had 
baffled  the  attempts  of  engineers.  At  this  critical 
juncture  a  voice  was  heard  from  the  wilderness — 
an  axman,  an  Ohio  "Squirrel  Hunter" — one  who 
had  constructed  many  miles  of  substantial  wagon 
roads  through  new  sections  of  marshy  country 
by  means  of  "corduroys" — placing  pieces  of  split 
timber,  or  sections  of  a  younger  growth,  sixteen 
feet  long,  in  close  contact  at  right  angles  to  the  line 
of  intended  road-bed,  then  pinning  long  pieces  of 
split  saplings  on  the  upper  surface  near  the  ends 
of  the  cross-ties  on  either  side,  and  filling  the  in- 
sterstices  with  earth,  gravel,  rotten  wood,  or 
other  material,  making  a  substantial  and  elastic 
track. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  president  and  directors  of  a 
section  of  unsatisfactory  strap-iron  road,  this  man 
appeared  before  the  board  with  a  model  showing 
the  relations  of  road-bed,  cross-ties,  and  rails  as 
now  in  use,  claiming  the  plans  proposed  would  in- 
sure the  desirable  essentials  to  safety,  speed,  cheap- 
ness, and  durability,  by  giving  elasticity  and  se- 
curing an  absolute  gauge  at  high  rates  of  speed. 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  323 

Seeing  the  model,  and  hearing  the  common- 
sense  arguments  and  practicable  philosophy  of 
the  "Squirrel  Hunter/'  all  present  clapped  their 
hands  and  cried — "Eureka!" 

Before  the  close  of  the  session,  a  resolution 
was  adopted  in  favor  of  "cross-ties  and  heavy 
iron  rails."  "With  the  correct  idea  for  con- 
struction, it  required  but  little  time  to  satisfy 
the  most  credulous  that  velocity  and  power  could 
be  obtained  with  safety,  and  time  saved  ;  for  time 
was  fast  becoming  an  important  factor  in  the 
prosperity  of  the  state.  Charters  were  granted 
for  roads  in  every  direction,  and  each  important 
village  had  aspirations  for  "a  railroad  center;" 
and  capital,  by  millions,  flowed  into  the  state, 
and  in  a  short  period  Ohio  found  herself  with 
eight  thousand  five  hundred  miles  of  railroad, 
representing  a  capital  of  more  than  five  hundred 
and  fifty  million  dollars. 

The  officers  of  the  first  railroads  felt  or  seemed 
to  feel  and  act  like  ordinary  people.  This,  how- 
ever, was  long  before  the  procuration  of  a  pro- 
hibitory tax  on  foreign  steel  rails.  On  one  occa- 
sion, in  1849,  the  passengers  on  the  line  of 
coaches  from  the  South,  bound  for  Cleveland. 
Ohio,  found  on  arrival  at  Columbus  that  "a  new 
and  expeditious  route"  had  just  been  opened  to 
Sandusky  City,  and  thence  to  Cleveland.  Buffalo, 
and  other  points  east  and  west. 

This  "new  and  expeditious  line"  consisted  of 
stage-coaches  from  Columbus  to  Mansfield,  from 


324  THK    StjflKKKL    HfNTKKS. 

Mansfield    to    Sanduskv  Ini  the   new   railroad,  and 

*/  «y 

tlit'iice  b\  boat  to  all  other  points.  The  railroad 
was  part  of  the  incomplete  first  through  line 
from  the  lakes  to  the  Ohio  river,  and  was  com- 
pleted from  Sanduskv  to  Mansfield,  fifty  miles. 
The  writer  was  one  of  the  second  installment  of 
passengers  sent  over  the  new  route.  Four  coaches 
left  Columbus  at  an  early  hour,  loaded  with 
passengers  and  baggage,  to  make  the  connection 
at  Mansfield,  nearly  seventy  miles,  over  rough 
mud  roads. 

All  went  well  until  the  Delaware  county  cordu- 
roys were  reached.  Here  the  leading  coach  got 
oil'  the  track  and  was  down,  with  one  wheel  in  the 
mud  up  to  the  hub.  Getting  out  of  this  diffi- 
culty caused  the  time-table  to  be  broken,  and  on 
reaching  Mansfield  in  the  evening  we  found  the 
train  to  Sanduskv  had  just  left — so  recently  that 
the  smoke  of  the  motor  was  still  visible  in  the 
direction  of  the  lake. 

The  arrival  of  this  caravan  created  no  little  ex- 
citement in  the  small  town  of  Mansfield  (Sec- 
retarv  Sherman's  home).  Thirty  angry  passen- 
gers to  be  detained  until  the  next  day  at  a  fifth- 
class  hotel,  destitute  of  accommodations,  was  not 
considered  in  the  storm  of  invective's  that  were 
hurled  in  every  direction,  after  taking  in  the  sit- 
uation. Accusations  were  publicly  made  that  the 
landlord  and  the  directors  of  the  railroad  were 
in  partnership  to  rob  the  public  by  assertions  en- 
ticing them  into  this  trap. 


RAILROAD  AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  325 

The  party  was  in  no  mood  to  remain  idle,  and 
at  once  took  possession  of  the  large  room  called 
"the  parlor,"  elected  a  chairman,  adopted  reso- 
lutions, and  made  a  report  and  placed  it  in  the 
hands  of  the  printer,  headed  with  familiar  En- 
glish epithets,  warning  the  public  to  shun  this 
impious  swindle — making  the  most  imposing 
specimen  of  literature,  on  large  sheets,  ever 
printed  in  that  highly-intelligent  town. 

Before  eleven  o'clock  that  night  the  bill-posters 
had  finished  their  work,  as  no  more  space  could 
be  found  on  which  to  spread  the  attractive  sheets. 
About  this  time  four  good-looking,  elderly  gen- 
tlemen appeared  and  announced  that  they  repre- 
sented the  president  and  directors  of  the  road  ; 
that  they  were  sorry  the  break  of  connection  had 
occurred ;  that  such  a  thing  would  not  occur 
again,  and  asked,  if  they  should  reimburse  all 
the  fares  paid  at  Columbus  and  give  each  a 
through  ticket  to  place  of  destination,  and  pay 
the  hotel  expenses  while  detained  in  Mansfield, 
would  the  party  surrender  all  the  posters  in  their 
possession  and  call  it  even? 

This  was  agreed  to — posters  surrendered  and 
fares  adjusted,  and  the  whole  party  invited  to  a 
well-prepared  but  unexpected  supper,  which 
wound  up  with  a  jolly  good  time,  and  the  dissat- 
isfied were  sent  on  their  way  next  morning  in 
full  praise  of  the  "new  arrangement,"  which  be- 
came the  most  popular  and  best-patronized 


TIIK    SljriKKKL    HfNTKKS. 

through  fare  route  of  any  previous  combination 
of  the  kind  ever  made  in  Ohio. 

Railroads  developed  their  importance  rapidly, 
as  did  also  the  oflicers  and  employes.  The  sys- 
tematic training  and  experimental  management 
of  roads  have  accomplished  wonders  in  national- 
izing the  people  of  the  United  States.  And  by 
the  reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  ''Railroads 
and  Telegraph,''  no  necessity  exists  any  longer 
for  Ohio  roads  to  compromise  or  give1  dmii'hackx  to 
patrons  in  order  to  hold  their  influence  and  busi- 
ness. At  least  it  would  seem  so,  when  the  roads 
within  the  state,  in  1894,  carried  twenty-seven 
million,  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  thousand 
passengers,  and  fifty-nine  millions,  six  hundred 
and  thirty-nine  tons  of  freight — earning  sixty 
million,  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand,  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-one  dollars;  giving  employ- 
ment to  fifty-four  thousand,  seven  hundred  per- 
sons, whose  salaries  amounted  to  a  fraction  less 
than  thirty  million,  six  hundred  thousand  dollars 
in  aggregate.  All  this  great  wealth  and  industry 
has  arisen  from  exceedingly  small  and  crude 
beginnings. 

Profitable  private  enterprises  resulting  from 
railroad  investments  in  the  states,  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  fifties,  awakened  a  dozing 
Congress  to  the  national  importance  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  in  1853,  the  Government  commenced  a 
road  at  an  estimated  cost  that  would  have  made 
the  head  of  a  Thomas  Jefferson  swim  with  con- 


RAILROAD  AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA. 

stitutional  objections — involving  an  expenditure 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty  millions,  with  an 
additional  five  millions  for  engineering  It 
proved  a  success  ;  the  expenditure  of  labor  en- 
riched the  people,  and  the  road  helped  save  the 
United  States  as  a  nation. 

With  canals,  railroads,  turnpikes,  large  crops, 
quick  and  cheap  transportation,  growing  cities 
and  increasing  knowledge,  wealth  and  happiness, 
to  Ohio  the  sky  was  clear  overhead,  and  every 
thing  prosperous,  West,  East  and  North,  until 
1860.  Something  was  transpiring  South — North- 
ern men  were  returning  from  the  slave  states 
with  the  belief  the  country  was  on  the  verge  of 
a  civil  war — a  gigantic  insurrection.  Some,  to 
whom  such  opinions  were  rendered,  believed, 
but  most  Northern  men  made  light  of  the  idea 
of  the  South  seceding,  as  there  appeared  no  justi- 
fiable cause  for  secession  or  rebellion. 

But  there  was  that  quarrel  about  the  black 
spot  on  the  face  of  the  Goddess  of  Liberty,  which 
had  grown  large  and  was  giving  pain  and  mortifi- 
cation to  all  her  Northern  friends.  It  was  evident 
the  disease  was  destroying  the  life  as  it  had  the 
beauty,  unless  something  was  done  to  remove  or 
check  its  growth . 

Consultation  after  consultation  had  from  time  to 
time  been  made  by  the  wise  men  of  the  nation, 
ending  in  disagreement  in  regard  to  the  etiology, 
pathology  and  treatment.  Still  it  was  evident, 
to  both  North  and  South,  that  something  must 


328  THK    SQl'IRRKL    HUNTERS. 

bo  done.  And  the  South,  claiming  the  patient, 
assured  the  country  the  affection  and  disaffection 
could  he  removed  by  the  law  of  nature  Samuel 
Hahnemann  made — lixiniiJ/a  nunilibus  curantur,'' 
and  retired  with  the  intention  to  capture  Wash- 
ington before  the  North  could  make  resistance, 
and  then  proclaim  the  slave-power,  the  true  and 
lawful  friend  of  Liberty,  and  insist  upon  a  hasty 
recognition  of  the  Government  of  the  United 
States,  by  the  foreign  ministers  at  the  federal 
capital  and  the  leading  powers  of  Europe.  But 
the  Southern  blood  could  not  be  restrained,  and 
the  premature  overt  acts  defeated  the  scheme, 
saved  Washington,  and  led  to  the  recovery  of 
universal  freedom  in  the  United  States  through  a 
prolonged  and  bloody  law. 

General  Sherman  says  in  regard  to  the  cause 
of  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  that  "The  Southern 
statesmen,  accustomed  to  rule,  began  to  perceive 
that  the  country  would  not  always  submit  to  be 
ruled  by  them  ;*  and  they  believed  slavery  could 
not  thrive  in  contact  with  freedom  ;  and  they  had 
come  to  regard  slavery  as  essential  to  their  po- 
litical and  social  existence.  Without  a  slave  caste 
they  could  have  no  aristocratic  caste. 
That  the  northern  politicians,  accustomed  to  follow 
the  lead  of  their  southern  associates  generally,  be- 
lieved that  the  defeat  of  Fremont,  in  1856,  as  the 
Republican  candidate  for  the  presidency,  had  in- 


ShLTinan  and  His  Campaigns. 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA. 

surecl  the  perpetuity  of  the  Union  ;  the  southern 
politicians,  generally,  believed  that  the  date  of 
its  dissolution  was  postponed  during  the  next 
presidential  term,  and  that  four  years  and  a  fa- 
cile President  were  given  them  to  prepare  for  it. 
And  they  began  to  do  so. 

"Accordingly,  during  Mr.  Buchanan's  admin- 
istration, there  was  set  on  foot  throughout  the 
Southern  States  a  movement  embodying  the  re- 
organization of  the  militia,  the  establishment 
and  enlargement  of  state  military  academies,  and 
the  collection  of  arms,  ammunition,  and  warlike 
materials  of  all  kinds. 

The  Federal  Secretary  of  War,  Mr.  Floyd, 
thoroughly  in  the  interests  of  the  pro-slavery 
conspirators,  aided  them  by  sending  to  the 
arsenals  in  the  slave  states  large  quantities  of 
the  national  arms  and  military  supplies  ;  the 
quotas  of  the  Southern  States  under  the  militia 
laws  were  anticipated  in  some  cases  by  several 
years  ;  and  he  caused  large  sales  of  arms  to  be 
secretly  made,  at  low  prices,  to  the  agents  of 
those  states.* 

"The  pro-slavery  leaders  then  began,  quietly, 
to  select  and  gather  around  them  the  men  whom 
they  needed  and  upon  whom  they  thought  they 
could  rely. 

"Among  the   men    they   fixed    upon  was  Oap- 


W.  T.  Sherman. 

28 


330  THI:  SCJTIRRKL   in  NTKRS. 

tain  Sherman.  .  .  .  It  was  explained  to  him 
tliat  the  object  of  establishing  the  State  Military 
Academy  at  Alexandria,  was  to  aid  in  suppressing 
negro  insurrections,  to  enable  the  state  to  protect 
her  borders,  .  .  .  and  to  form  a  nucleus  for 
defense  in  case  of  an  attack  by  a  foreign  enemy." 
Captain  Sherman  did  not  remain  long  in  his 
high  salaried  office  before  he  saw  enough  to  con- 
vince an  intelligent  mind  war  was  near  at  hand. 
and  on  January  18,  1861,  he  sent  in  his  resigna- 
nation  to  the  Governor,  as  follows  : 

"Sin:  As  I  occupy  a  quasi-military  position 
under  this  state,  I  deem  it  proper  to  acquaint  you 
that  I  accepted  such  position  when  Louisiana  was 
a  state  in  the  Union,  and  when  the  motto  of  the 
seminary,  inserted  in  marble  over  the  main  door, 
was:  'By  the  liberality  of  the  general  Govern- 
ment of  the  United  States — the  Union — Extn 
Perpctnci.'  Recent  events  foreshadow  a  great 
change,  and  it  becomes  all  men  to  choose.  If 
Louisiana  withdraws  from  the  Federal  Union,  I 
prefer  to  maintain  my  allegiance  to  the  old  Con- 
stitution as  long  as  a  fragment  of  it  survives,  and 
my  longer  stay  here  would  be  wrong  in  every 
sense  of  the  word.  In  that  event,  I  beg  you  will 
send  or  appoint  some  authori/ed  agent  to  take 
charge  of  the  arms  and  munitions  of  war  here, 
belonging  to  the  state,  or  direct  me  what  disposi- 
tion should  be  made  of  them. 

"And  furthermore,  as   president    of  the   board 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA. 

of  supervisors,  I  beg  you  to  take  immediate  steps 
to  relieve  me  as  superintendent  the  moment  the 
state  determines  to  secede,  for  on  no  earthly  ac- 
count will  I  do  an  act,  or  think  any  thought, 
hostile  to  or  in  defiance  of  the  old  Government 
of  the  United  States." 

Up  to  this  date,  Captain  Sherman  was  not  much 
known  as  a  lawyer  or  statesman,  and  as  a  military 
genius,  the  South  found  they  had  mis-measured 
his  patriotism  and  that  which  constituted  his 
make-up.  Few,  if  any,  had  heard  the  reply  of 
the  little  fatherless  boy  to  the  minister  who 
hesitated  to  give  him  the  name  of  "a  heathen," 
(Tccii.mseli.}  in  baptism. 

"My  father  called  me  Tecumseh,  and  Tecumseh 
I'll  be  called — If  you  won't,  I'll  not  have  anv  of 

«/  t. 

your  baptism." 

This  was  the  character  of  General  Sherman, 
whose  talents  were  as  bright  as  was  his  life,  pure 
and  courageous.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
war  he  was  assailed  on  all  sides,  by  the  petty  jeal- 
ousies indigenous  to  public  life  ;  but  nothing 
could  retard  his  progress  to  the  front,  any  more 
than  it  could  his  march  to  the  sea — one  of  Ohio's 
legitimate  "Squirrel  Hunters"  born  with  his 
hand  on  Esau's  heel." 

The  war  came,  and  on  the  12th  day  of  April. 
1861,  the  first  gun  was  fired.  The  Government 
was  not  alarmed,  but  was  firm  in  the  determina- 
tion to  preserve  the  Union  at  all  cost,  and  looked 
upon  the  prospects  of  final  success  of  secession 


TIIK    ScjlTRRKL    HUNTERS. 

as  impossible  against  tho  will  of  the  vast  popu- 
lation and  resources  of  the  North-western  States. 
and  held  to  the  truth  of  General  .Jackson's 
answer  to  Oalhoun  :  "Secession  is  treason,  and 
the  penalty  for  treason  is  death.'' 

At  the  outbreak  of  the  Rebellion,  the  State  of 
Kentucky  had  a  governor  named  Beriah  Magoffin. 
He  had  by  some  unknown  means  escaped  the 
familiar  Kentucky  military  title,  and  was  known 
simply  as  "Beriah  Magoffin,  the  Secessionist." 
Beriah  concocted  a  brilliant  scheme,  and  gave  out 
a  manifesto  that  ''Kentucky  will  not  sever  con- 
nection from  the  National  Government,  nor  take 
up  arms  for  either  belligerant  party,  but  arm 
herself  for  the  preservation  of  peace  within  her 
borders,  and  a  mediator  to  effect  a  just  and  honor- 
able peace.'' 

But  when  the  President  of  the  United  States 
called  on  Kentucky  for  volunteers  to  defend  the 
Union,  he  received  the  reply:  "L  say  emphati- 
cally that  Kentucky  will  furnish  no  troops  for  the 
wicked  purpose  of  subduing  her  sister  Southern 
States.''  On  hearing  of  the  reply  of  Governor 
Beriah  Magoilin,  the  Governor  of  Ohio  immedi- 
ately telegraphed  the  War  Department,  "If  Ken- 
tucky will  not  iill  her  quota,  Ohio  will  fill  it  for 
her."  And  within  two  days,  two  regiments  were 
on  the  ntad  to  the  credit  of  Kentucky,  and  other 
regiments  came  in  so  rapidly,  that  within  a  few 
days  after  the  announcement  of  quotas,  the  Ad- 
jutant-General slated  the  offers  of  troops  from 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  333 

Ohio  were  enough  to  fill  the  full  quota  of 
seventy-five  thousand  men  allotted  to  the  en- 
tire country. 

The  people  of  Ohio,  and  especially  some  in  Cin- 
cinnati, became  indignant  at  the  muddle  in  which 
Kentucky  had  placed  herself,  causing  Cincinnati 
to  occupy  an  extra-hazardous  position.  The 
Governors  of  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois  foresaw 
the  tempting  prize  Cincinnati  would  be  to  the 
Confederates,  and  early  urged  the  policy  of  seiz- 
ing Louisville,  Paducah,  Columbus,  Covington, 
Newport  and  the  railroads.  But  this  Avise  sug- 
gestion was  postponed  in  its  execution  for  want 
of  troops,  until  the  opportunity  became  lost. 
Columbus  was  strongly  garrisoned,  Buckner  had 
commited  his  treason,  Bowling  Green  was  forti- 
fied, Tennessee  was  gone,  and  Kentucky  held 
back  all  the  armies  of  the  West  until  March, 
1862."* 

Still,  for  the  kindness,  Kentucky  came  near 
getting  Ohio  into  trouble  during  the  second 
year  of  the  war.  And  this,  too,  at  a  time  when 
the  Union  forces  were  scattered  and  deciminated 
by  disasters,  disease,  and  desertions  until  the 
War  Department  showed  an  inability  to  main- 
tain many  important  positions,  especially  in  the 
border  states.  Rebel  raids  were  moving  in 
several  directions.  John  Morgan,  with  his  cav- 
alry, found  the  City  of  Cincinnati  defenseless 


"  Ohio  in  the  War."     Reed. 


33  TIIK    StjriKKKL    JITNTHRS. 

and  virtually  besieged.  Rough  secession  citizens 
were  rioting,  mobbing,  and  destroying  property 
of  peaceable  persons  of  African  descent,  requir- 
ing "one  thousand"1  extra  policemen  to  save 
enough  of  the  boodle  to  make  an  inducement 
for  rebel  raiders  to  call  that  way. 

The  cultivated  hatred  and  unlawful  acts 
toward  the  colored  race  prevailed  to  such  a  large 
extent  bv  Cincinnati  rebels  and  sympathizers, 
that  the  sentiments  of  officials  were  so  uncertain 
that,  when  danger  was  in  sight  and  the  city 
came  under  the  management  of  men  who  had 
actually  taken  side  with  the  Federal  (Govern- 
ment, the  police  were  required  to  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  in  a  body  as  their  official  certificate 
of  loyalty. 

The  rebel  element  was  disappointed  that  .John 
Morgan  and  cavalry  did  not  attempt  to  take  tin- 
city,  which  was  joy  and  gladness  to  the  Union 
portion  of  the  inhabitants.  Hut  new  and  more 
alarming  trouble  to  the  loyal  citi/en  was  ap- 
proaching. The  Union  forces  had  just  met 
with  disaster  at  Richmond,  and  General  Ki Tin- 
Smith  had  entered  Lexington  with  Morgan  and 
started  an  army  for  Cincinnati. 

Bragg  was  just  crossing  the  Kentucky  line  for 
Louisville,  and  no  time  could  be  lost.  Cincinnati 
was  without  preparation  or  means  of  defense, 
and  all  was  literally  blue  around  recruiting  offices  ; 
government  troops  were  powerless,  for  want  of 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  335 

time,  and  the  emergency  was  great,  for  the  rebels 
were  near  at  hand. 

If  the  Federal  forces  were  ever  at  any  time 
subject  to  despondency  and  discouragements  it 
would  have  been  excusable  during  July  and  Au- 
gust of  1862.  General  McClellan  had  been  re- 
called from  the  Peninsula,  Pope  driven  back 
and  forced  to  seek  refuge  in  the  defenses  of  Wash- 
ington, raids  were  menacing  the  borders  of  the 
free  states,  and  many  were  claiming  the  war  "a 
failure/' 

General  Wallace  had  been  placed  in  command 
for  the  protection  of  the  cities  of  Cincinnati, 
Covington,  and  Newport,  and  arrived  in  Cincin- 
nati at  nine  o'clock  at  night,  September  1st. 
And  after  consultation  witli  Governor  Tod  and 
the  mayors  of  the  above-named  cities,  wrote  his 
proclamation  of  martial  law,  and  after  midnight 
sent  it  to  the  city  papers. 

While  this  was  going    on.   the    Governor  was 

o  o 

busily  engaged  at  the  telegraph  station.  He 
knewT  the  power  and  the  loyalty  of  the  "Squirrel 
Hunters."  As  one  of  their  number,  he  asked 
them  to  come — to  come  without  delay,  and  to  come 
armed — and  then  telegraphed  to  the  Secretary 
of  War,  that  a  large  rebel  force  was  moving 
against  Cincinnati,  "but  it  would  be  successfully 
met."  He  had  faith  in  the  expected  troops. 
Though  fresh  from  the  rural  districts,  they  all 
knew  how  to  shoot;  all  fellow  "Squirrel  Hunt- 


TIIIO     SQl'IKKKL    HUNTERS. 

ers,"  never  known  to  turn  their  backs  to  the 
enemy  with  the  trusty  rifle  in  hand. 

History  tells  the  result.  Whitelaw  Reid  says 
of  the  next  morning: 

"Before  daybreak  the  advance  of  the  men  that 
were  thenceforward  to  be  known  in  the  history 
of  the  state  as  the  'Squirrel  Hunters'  were  filing 
through  the  streets." 

The  citizens  knew  little  or  nothing  of  what 
had  been  transpiring  throughout  the  night,  and 
when  aroused  by  the  tramp,  tramp,  tramp,  and 
as  they  gazed  out  upon  the  dimly-lighted  streets, 
the  greater  their  wonderment  grew.  Armed 
men,  with  all  shades,  colors,  and  kinds  of  uni- 
forms !  No  one,  awakening  from  sweet  slumber, 
could  say  from  what  country,  place,  or  planet, 
such  a  vast  multitude  could  have  dropped  during 
the  night.  It  could  be  seen  the  army  was  not 
blue  enough  for  federals,  nor  (jnn/  enough  for 
rebels;  and  "good  Lord,  good  devil,"  was  about 
all  that  could  be  said. 

In  due  time  the  morning  papers  came,  an- 
nouncing the  city  under  martial  law  and  pro- 
tected bv  the  "Squirrel  Hunters"  of  Ohio,  and 
the  excitement  became  so  great  that  many  ex- 
pressed themselves  much  after  the  fashion  of 
"the  little  woman  who  went  to  market  all  on  a 
market  day." 

For  patriotism,  executive  ability,  and  business 
talents.  Governor  Toil  had  few  equals.  With  him 
the  line  of  clutv  was  alwavs  clear.  Before  Gen- 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA. 


337 


era!  Wallace  had  written  his  proclamation  of 
martial  law  the  Governor  was  on  his  way  to  Cin- 
cinnati. From  this  point  he  at  once  telegraphed 
to  the  people,  press,  and  military  committees, 
saying  :  "Our  southern  border  is  threatened  with 
invasion.  .  .  .  Gather  up  all  the  arms  and 
furnish  yourselves  with  ammunition  for  the  same. 
The  soil  of  Ohio  must  not  be  invaded 
by  the  enemies  of  our  glorious  government.  Do 
not  wait.  Xonc  but  armed  men  will  be  received." 


"From  morning  till  night  the  streets  resounded 
with  the  tramp  of  armed  men,  marching  to  the 
defense  of  the  city.  From  every  quarter  of  the 
state  they  came,  in  every  form  of  organization, 
with  various  species  of  arms.  The  'Squirrel 


. 

-** 


•'  «  V'i  :  .Tir4!3»KK»»£  HWSWiWK^Bl '  > '  'Tiri 


Pontoon  Bridge,  Ohio  River. 


29 


3o8  TIIK    Sqt'IKRKL    HTNTKRS. 

Hunters,'  in  their  homespun,  with  powder-horn 
and  buckskin  pouch,  .  .  .  all  poured  out 
from  the  railroad  depots  and  down  toward  the 
pontoon  bridge.  The  ladies  of  the  city  furnished 
provisions  by  the  wagon  load  ;  the  Fifth-street 
market-house  was  converted  into  a  vast  free  eat- 
ing saloon  for  the  'Squirrel  Hunters.'  Halls  and 
warehouses  were  used  as  barracks.'' 

As  soon  as  it  was  known  the  city  was  under 
martial  law,  the  sounds  of  hummers  and  saws 
came  up  from  the  river,  and  in  a  few  hours  a 
pontoon  bridge  was  stretched  across  to  Coving- 
ton,  and  streams  of  wagons  loaded  with  lumber 
and  other  materials  for  fortifications  Avere  passing 
over  ;  and  on  the  4th  of  September  Governor  Tod 
telegraphed  to  General  Wright,  commander  of 
the  department  :  "I  have  now  sent  you  for  Ken- 
tucky twenty  regiments.  I  have  twenty-one 
more  in  process  of  organization/'  and  the  next 
day  said  to  the  press  : 

"The  response  to  my  proclamation  asking 
volunteers  for  the  protection  of  Cincinnati  was 
most  noble  and  generous.  All  may  feel  proud  of 
the  gallantry  of  the  people  of  Ohio.  No  more 
volunteers  are  required  for  the  protection  of  Cin- 
cinnati." 

The  exertions  of  the  city  were,  however,  not 
abated.  Judge  Dickson  organized  a  colored 
brigade  for  labor  on  the  fortifications.  This  with 
the  daily  details  of  three  thousand  white  citizens, 


RAILROAD  AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  339 

composed  of  judges,  lawyers,  merchant  princes, 
clerks,  day-laborers,  artists,  ministers,  editors, 
side  by  side,  kept  at  work  with  the  ax,  spade, 
pick,  and  shovel,  and  all  promised  the  same 
wages — a  dollar  per  day — went  on  most  enthusi- 
astically. 

The  engineers  had  given  shape  to  the  fortifica- 
tions. General  Wallace  was  vigilant  night  and 
day,  as  the  rebel  forces  gradually  moved  up  as  if 
intending  an  attack.  The  Squirrel  Hunters  were 
drilled  during;  the  day  and  manned  the  trenches 

O  t/ 

every  night,  and  it  was  no  longer  a  possibility 
that  the  forces  under  General  Kirby  Smith  could 
take  the  city.  But,  owing  to  a  few  skirmishes, 
Major-General  Wright,  commander  of  the  de- 
partment, thought  it  prudent  to  call  for  more 
"Squirrel  Hunters,"  as  it  was  believed  a  general 
engagement  was  near  at  hand.  The  papers  of 
the  city,  September  llth,  announced  that  before 
they  were  distributed  the  sound  of  artillery  might 
be  heard  on  the  heights  of  Covington,  and  ad- 
vised their  readers  to  keep  cool,  as  the  city  was 
safe  beyond  question. 

It  was  under  these  circumstances  Governor  Tod 
sent  the  following  telegram  to  "The  Press  of 
Cleveland" — "To  the  several  Military  Commit- 
tees of  Northern  Ohio  : ' ' 

"COLUMBUS,  Sept.  10,  18G2. 

"By  telegram  from  Major-General  Wright, 
commander-in-chief  of  Western  forces,  received 


THK    SQflRRKL    HUNTKHS. 

at  two  o'clock  tliis  morning,  [  am  directed  to  sond 
all  armed  men  that  can  be  raised  immediately 
to  Cincinnati.  You  will  at  once  exert  your- 
selves to  execute  this  order.  The  men  should  be 
armed,  each  furnished  with  a  blanket  and  at  least 
two  days'  rations.  Railroad  companies  are  re- 
quested to  furnish  transportation  of  troops  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  other  business." 

The  expected  attack  did  not  come.  "General 
Wallace  gradually  pushed  out  his  advance  a 
little,  and  the  Rebel  pickets  fell  back.  By  the 
llth,  all  felt  that  the  danger  was  over.  On  the 
12th,  General  Smith's  hasty  retreat  was  discovered. 
On  the  13th,  Governor  Tod  checked  the  move- 
ments of  the  Squirrel  Hunters,  announced  the 
safety  of  Cincinnati,  and  expressed  his  congratu- 
lations/' 

"CofA\Mi;rs,  Srptci/ilx'r  13,  LSG'2. 

"Eight  o'clock  A.  M. 
11  To  tttc  /Vc.s-.s-  of  Cleretand: 


"Copy  of  dispatch  this  moment  received  from 
Major-General  Wright,  at  Cincinnati  :  'The 
enemy  is  retreating.  Until  we  know  more  of 
his  intention  and  position,  do  not  send  any  more 
citi/en-troops  to  this  city.'  '  And  the  Governor's 
dispatch  to  the  Cleveland  Press,  accompanying 
the  good  news  from  Major-General  Wright,  says  : 
"The  generous  response  from  all  parts  of  the 
state  to  the  recent  call,  has  won  additional  re- 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  341 

nown  for  the  people  of  Ohio.  The  news  which 
reached  Cincinnati,  that  the  patriotic  men  all 
over  the  state  were  rushing  to  its  defense,  saved 
our  soil  from  invasion,  and  hence  all  good  citi- 
zens will  feel  grateful  to  the  patriotic  men  who 
promptly  offered  their  assistance." 

The  clear-minded  Governor  Tod,  without 
troops,  guns  or  works  of  defense,  telegraphed 
the  Secretary  of  War  that  a  large  Rebel  force 
was  moving  on  Cincinnati,  "but  it  would  be 
successfully  met  f  thirteen  days  after  wired  the 
following  • 

"COLUMBUS,  September  13,  1862. 
"To  lion.  E.  M.  Stanton,  Secretary  of  War, 
"W'nsJtington,  D.  C. 

"The  Squirrel  Hunters  responded  gloriously  to 
the  call  for  the  defense  of  Cincinnati — thousands 
reached  the  city,  and  thousands  more  were  en 
route  for  it.  The  enemy  having  retreated,  all 
have  been  ordered  back.  This  uprising  of  the 
people  is  the  cause  of  the  retreat.  You  should 
acknowledge  publicly  this  gallant  conduct/' 

The  entire  North-west  resounded  with  praises 
for  Governor  Tod  and  his  thoughtful  and  success- 
ful expedient.  To  the  "Squirrel  Hunters."  it 
vras  not  an  entirely  new  thing  ;  they  had  often 
heard  of  the  times  when  their  fathers  were  the 
actors  at  Cleveland,  Fort  Meigs  and  the  Miamies, 
and  bore  their  honors  with  a  degree  of  modesty 


342  THK    SQriKRKL    Hl'NTKRS. 

becoming  their  military  equipments.  When 
Lewis  Wallace,  Major-General  commanding,  bid 
these  gallant  men  farewell,  he  said  :  "In  coming 
time,  strangei's  viewing  the  works  on  the  hills  of 
Newport  and  Covington,  will  ask,  'Who  built 
these  intrenchments?'*  You  can  answer — 'We 
built  them.'  If  they  ask  'Who  guarded  them?1 
You  can  reply — 'We  helped  in  thousands.'  If 
they  inquire  the  result,  your  answer  will  be — 'The 
enemy  came  and  looked  at  them,  and  stole  away 
in  the  night.'  You  have  won  much  honor  ;  keep 
your  organizations  ready  to  win  more.  The 
people  of  Ohio  appreciated  this  noble  act  of  the 
'Squirrel  Hunters,'  in  saving  the  City  of  Cincin- 
nati, by  turning  back  the  Rebel  army  and  pre- 
vented the  destruction  of  property  by  a  dissolute 
and  desperate  army." 

And  the  Ohio  Legislature,  at  its  next  session 
adopted  the  following  resolution  : 

"Resolved,  By  the  Senate  and  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives of  the  State  of  Ohio,  That  the  Gov- 
ernor 1)0  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  and  directed 
to  appropriate  out  of  his  contingent  fund  a  suffi- 
cient sum  to  pay  for  printing  and  lithographing 
discharges  for  the  patriotic  men  of  the  state  who 
responded  to  the  call  of  the  governor  and  went 
to  the  southern  border  to  repel  the  invader,  who 


*  Ten  miles  in  length. 


RAILROAD  A:;D  TELEGRAPH  ERA. 


343 


will    be    known    in    history    as    '  The     Squirrel 
Hunters.'  '  "JAMES  R.  HUBBELL, 

"Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

"P.  HITCHCOCK, 
"President  pro  tern,  of  the  Senate. 
" COLUMBUS,  Marcli  11,  1863." 


Governor's  Certificate  of  Honorable  -Membership. 


344 


THK    SCjnilKKL    llfNTKRS. 


To  tliis  joint  resolution  of  the  legislature  the 
governor  responded  with  a  handsome  souvenir 
entitled 

THE    SQUIRREL   HUNTER'S    DISCHARGE. 


RAILROAD  AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  345 

A  year  after  the  services  were  performed,  fif- 
teen thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty-six  were 
issued  to  Squirrel  Hunters,  which,  however,  did 
not  embrace  more  than  one-third  of  the  number 
that  responded  to  the  call  and  took  part  in  the 
defense  of  Cincinnati  and  the  Kentucky  cities. 

Those  with  certificates  and  those  having  none, 
but  who  responded  to  the  call,  are  no  less 
"Squirrel  Hunters,"  descendants  of  the  Spirit  of 
'76 — a  chosen  people  to  maintain  and  perpetuate 
the  model  government  of  the  world. 

From  the  Declaration  of  Independence  to  the 
present  time  the  power  of  this  free  people  lias 
been  as  manifestly  directed  by  unseen  forces  as 
ever  was  that  of  the  favorite  nation  which  came 
out  from  Egypt  under  a  cloud  ;  and  the  influ- 
ences which  dictated  the  dedication  of  the  North- 
west to  freedom  will  not  likely  permit  the  pur- 
pose to  be  compromised  or  changed. 

That  which  was  considered  a  long  duration 
of  the  war,  with  frequent  calls  for  troops,  became 
exceedingly  discouraging.  And  it  was  evident, 
after  two  years,  that  the  strength  of  the  federal 
army  was  inadequate  for  successful  offensive 
operations.  At  the  beginning  of  1863,  it  required 
nearly  four  hundred  thousand  recruits  to  fill  the 
companies  and  regiments  then  in  service  up  to 
the  standard  enumeration.  Death,  disaster,  and 
desertion  begat  inactivity,  with  an  apparent  ex- 
haustion of  former  volunteer  supplies  ;  and  se- 
cession was  becoming  more  noisy  and  defiant  in 


346  THK    SQl'IKRKL    HTNTKHS. 

all  tlie  loyal  states.  This  condition  of  tilings 
brought  out  the  conscript  act,  and  under  it  the 
Provost-Marshal  General's  Bureau  was  organized 
June  1,  1863,  by  James  B.  Fry,  and  early  in  1864, 
this  efficient  officer  and  his  assistants  had  the 
loyal  states  well  canvassed,  and  thoroughly  organ- 
ized, to  obtain  all  the  men  necessary  to  put  down 
the  Rebellion.  Each  state  was  divided  into  dis- 
tricts ;  each  district  was  placed  under  the  man- 
agement of  commissioned  officers,  termed  a  Board 
of  Enrollment,  consisting  of  a  provost-marshal, 
commissioner,  and  surgeon,  whose  business  it  was 
to  make  a  full  and  exact  enrollment  of  all  per- 
sons liable  to  conscription  under  the  law  of  March 
3,  1863,  and  its  amendments,  showing  a  com- 
plete exhibit  of  the  military  resources  in  men 
over  twenty  and  under  forty-five  years  of  age, 
with  the  names  alphabetically  arranged,  with  de- 
scription of  person  and  occupation  in  each  sub- 
district. 

The  enrollment  being  cleared  of  persons  hav- 
ing manifest  disability  of  a  permanent  character, 
each  sub-district  (township  or  ward)  was  required 
to  furnish  its  assigned  quota  under  calls  for  men, 
whether  the  able-bodied  individuals  enrolled  con- 
tinued to  reside  in  that  sub-district  or  not.  Unless  it 
could  be  shown  such  person  or  persons  were  cor- 
rectly enrolled  in  another  sub-district,  were  in  the 
service  imcredited  or  credited  to  another  sub-dis- 
trict, the  removal  of  residence  could  not  relieve  the 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  347 

obligation  of  the  sub-district  where  such  person 
or  persons  were  enrolled. 

This  new  arrangement  at  first  was  exceedingly 
unpopular  with  rebel  sympathizers  in  the  loyal 
states,  but  the  bureau  soon  established  a  business 
that  impressed  a  belief  in  secession  circles  that 
it  was  an  energetic  war  measure  that  would  soon 
end  the  unpleasantness.  This  system  of  furnish- 
ing soldiers  showed  many  advantages  over  that 
of  voluntary  enlistments.  Large  demands  for 
men  could  be  met  immediately,  and  at  the  same 
time  it  made  every  citizen,  whether  loyal  or  dis- 
loyal, equally  interested  in  having  the  quotas 
filled  by  means  of  bounties  in  order  to  avoid  sub- 
district  drafts. 

And  from  an  enrollment  of  two  million  two 
hundred  and  fifty-four  thousand  persons  liable  to 
do  military  service,  the  bureau,  in  a  brief  period, 
forwarded  under  calls  of  the  government  one  mill- 
ion one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  six  hun- 
dred and  twenty-one  able-bodied  soldiers,  and 
with  these,  and  those  already  in  the  field,  the 
would-be  Southern  Confederacy  crumbled  before 
the  federal  power. 

It  cost  the  government  for  raising  troops  from 
the  commencement  of  the  war  until  May  1,  1863, 
the  date  the  recruiting  service  was  turned  over 
to  the  Provost-Marshal  General's  Bureau,  forty- 
six  million  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  thousand 
one  hundred  and  sixty-two  dollars,  or  thrrtj/-fonr 
dollars  for  each  man,  exclusive  of  pay  or  bounty, 


348  THE     SQUIRREL    HUNTERS. 

while  putting  soldiers  in  the  service  under  the 
conscript  act  cost  the  government  nothing.  The 
Provost-Marshal  General  neither  asked  nor  re- 
ceived, an  appropriation,  but  under  the  law  he 
made  the  bureau  pay  all  attendant  expenses,  and 
after  paying  out  sixteen  million  nine  hundred 
and  seventy-six  thousand  two  hundred  and  eleven 
dollars  for  recruiting  over  one  million  men  and 
capturing  and  forwarding  seventy-six  thousand 
live  hundred  and  twenty-six  deserters  (now 
wards),  General  Fry  turned  into  the  Treasury 
of  the  United  States,  to  the  credit  of  the  bureau, 
nine  million  three  hundred  and  ninety  thousand 
one  hundred  and  five  dollars,  all  of  which  proved 
a  matter  of  great  economy  to  the  government, 
while  the  recruiting  of  the  army  cost  less  than 
one  third  as  much  as  that  adopted  previous  to 
the  organization  of  the  bureau,  and  that  without 
cost  to  the  government. 

The  draft-wheel  and  its  uses  were  not  the  most 
pleasant  things  to  contemplate,  and  to  soften  down 
the  enactment  Congress  authorized  recruiting  in 
Southern  states,  regardless  of  color  or  previous 
condition,  that  by  means  of  agents  and  liberal 
bounties  very  little  drafting  would  likely  be  nec- 
essary. And  it  was  soon  discovered  that  blue 
suits  and  muskets  were  quite  becoming  to  the  col- 
ored man.  "The  shape  of  the  cranium,  the 
length  of  the  forearm,  thinness  of  the  gastro- 
cnemius  muscles,  and  flatness  of  the  feet,"  all 
disappeared  at  the  War  Office,  and  for  which  was 


RAILROAD  AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA. 


349 


substituted,  "He  can  be  made  a  mechanical  sol- 
dier to  great  perfection,  skilled  in  the  use  of 
arms,  and  the  machinery  of  tactics  ;  and,  by  rea- 


Draft  Wheel— Twelfth  District,  Ohio. 

15OAU1)    OF    KXROLLMKNT  : 

('APT.  GEO.  W.  TIOBY,  Provost  Marshal. 
A.  KAGY,  Commissioner  of  Enrollment. 
DK.  X.  E.  JONES,  Surgeon  Board  of  Enrollment. 

son  of  the  obstinacy  of  his    disposition   and  the 
depth  of  his  passions,  may  become   most  power- 


Till-:    SOJ'IKKKL    Jir.NTKKS. 

ful  ill  a  charge  or  in  resisting  the  onset  of  an 
enemy." 

The  race  was  tried  and  showed  the  better  pre- 
dictions true.  Slavery  had  woven  prejudices 
around  the  name  and  color,  until  the  govern- 
ment, under  Lincoln,  Stanton,  Chase,  and  a  Con- 
gress of  loyal  states,  could  find  no  place  or  mus- 
tering officer  (previous  to  the  operation  of  the 
Provost  Marshal  General's  Bureau),  short  of 
Massachusetts,  that  could  make  the  man  of  color 
ready  to  obey  orders  and  use  a  gun.  Nothing  in 
history  gives  a  clearer  view  of  the  height  and 
depth  of  the  degrading  influences  of  the  institu- 
tion upon  those  who  were  free  than  the  treatment 
of  the  loyal  colored  man  and  citizen  during  the 
efforts  of  the  government  to  save  the  Union. 
Through  fear  or  cowardice  his  proffered  aid  was 
rejected  at  government  recruiting  offices,  while 
Massachusetts  was  procuring  colored  credit  from 
the  loyal  states  at  unusually  small  bounties. 

It  may  have  been  so  ordered;  the  diet  may 
have  contained  enough  meat  to  offend.  Still,  the 
colored  troops  got  to  the  front  before  the  war  was 
over,  and  did  much  in  reinforcing  the  wasting 
armies  and  lifting  anxious  sub-districts  out  of  the 
draft,  as  well  as  covering  their  race  with  glory 
by  their  bravery  and  efficiency. 

Persons  placed  in  the  service  by  means  of  the 
draft-wheel  generally  procured  substitutes — per- 
sons not  liable  to  draft — aliens  and  under-age  in- 
dividuals, who,  for  three  years'  service  or  during 


RAILROAD  AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  351 

the  war,  commanded  one  thousand  dollars,  while 
the  bounty  for  enlistments  of  those  liable  to  draft 
varied  from  three  to  five  hundred  dollars.  Dur- 
ing the  war  much  of  the  territory  of  Ohio  was 
unimproved  woods,  though  thickly  settled  with 
cabin  civilization.  These  new  settlements  were 
made  by  the  descendants  of  original  Squirrel 
Hunters — persons  born  in  the  state,  and  with 
this  legacy  generally  established  homes  in  new 
counties,  in  the  woods,  with  like  primitive  be- 
ginnings to  those  of  their  ancestors.  At  the  an- 
nouncement of  secession  they  were  ready  to  serve 
their  country,  and  it  was  from  these  newer  and 
poorer  sections  that  Ohio  obtained  her  volun- 
teers— from  a  hardy  and  efficient  class  of  young 
men,  accustomed  to  active  life  and  the  use  of  the 
gun. 

The  recruits  from  Ohio  were  chiefly  volunteer 
enlistments.  This  was  manifestly  so  in  the 
Twelfth  district,  in  which  the  author  was  person- 
ally and  officially  interested.  The  district  was 
composed  of  Ross,  Pickaway,  Fairfield,  Hocking, 
Perry,  and  Pike  counties,  embracing  sixty  miles 
in  length  of  the  fertile  Scioto  valley,  containing 
in  1860  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine  thousand 
four  hundred  and  fifty-six  inhabitants,  witli  a 
corrected  enrollment  of  eighteen  thousand  three 
hundred  and  seventy-one  persons  liable  to  mili- 
tary service.  Of  this  enrollment,  thirteen  thou- 
sand six  hundred  and  twenty-eight  were  farmers, 
and  the  remaining  four  thousand  seven  hundred 


352  THK    ScjriKKKL    IITNTKUS. 

and  forty-three  comprised  persons  of  other  occu- 
pations. 

Taking  tliis  district  as  an  average  of  the  other 
districts  in  the  state,  it  shows  the  volunteers  sent 
to  the  front  from  Ohio  were  chiefly  young  men 
born  in  the  state — hardy  and  well-developed 
Squirrel  Hunters.  Of  seventeen  hundred  and 
fifty-five  volunteers  forwarded  by  this  district, 
from  July  4,  1804,  to  April  30,  18G/),  one  thous- 
and, two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  were  Ohio 
boys,  with  an  average  of  23.77  years — the  re- 
maining five  hundred  and  twenty-six  were  from 
twenty-four  states  and  fifteen  foreign  countries, 

*/  o 

with  an  average  of  27.13  years.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  more  favorable  age  of  the  latter  group 
for  physical  development,  the  measurements  stand 
decidedly  in  favor  of  the  Ohio  born,  and  if  adding 
to  the  latter  the  nine  hundred  and  eighty-seven 
drafted  men,  natives  of  Ohio,  the  favorable  differ- 
ence becomes  still  more  apparent. 

The  Provost-Marshal  General,  in  his  report  to 
the  War  Department,  states  there  was  not  a 
single  district  in  all  the  loyal  states  in  which  the 
board  of  enrollment  was  free  from  the  annoyance 
of  evil  disposed  persons  hostile  to  the  Govern- 
ment, who  were  ever  ready  and  willing  to  em- 
barrass its  operation  by  stimulating  resistance  to 
the  draft  or  discouraging  enlistments.  It  was 
when  the  disloyal  element  experienced  the  firm- 
ness and  earnestness  of  the  boards,  and  felt 
the  power  behind  them  for  the  enforcement  of 


KAILROAI)    AM)    TKLK(;KAPI[     KKA.  353 

the  law,  that  they  became  co-laborers  and  most 
successful  recruiting  agents.  This  was  exceed- 
ingly gratifying  to  the  Government,  and  caused 
the  Provost-Marshal  General  to  say  to  the  Sec- 
retary of  War:  "/  am  confident  there  is  no  c7a.s-.s- 
of  public  servants  to  u'Jtom  the  country  is  more 
indebted  for  valuable  services  rendered  than  the 
District  Provost-Marshals  and  their  associates,  com- 
prising the  Boards  of  Enrollment,  by  wliose  efforts  the 
army  of  the  Union,  which  suppressed  the  Rebellion, 
teas  mainly  recruited.1'1  Still,  Hon.  Hoke  Smith, 
ex-Rebel  and  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  published 
the  information  that  these  recruiting  officers  are 

o 

not  pensionable  under  the  disability  act  of  Con- 
gress, June  27,  1890,  for  the  reason  '•''these  officer* 
were  not  in  the  ww,"  and  so  says  the  present 
Commissioner  of  Pensions,  Hon.  Henry  Clay  Ev- 
ens. Autocratic  decisions  are  sometimes  quite  at 
variance  with  sound  sense  as  well  as  suggestive 
of  one  of  ex-President  Lincoln's  best  stories. 

It  can  not  be  said  that  the  Ohio  Squirrel 
Hunters  were  not  in  the  war,  for  not  a  few  of 
them  were  pensioned  long  before  the  ex-sec  retarv 
surrendered  his  arms  of  rebellion  against  the 
Government  he  now  fosters.  The  oppressors  of 
slavery  in  their  wicked  attempts  to  destroy  the 
Union,  induced  a  war  that  brought  with  it  incal- 
culable sorrow  and  suffering — a  war  that  words 
and  figures  fail  to  give  an  approximate  rcali/a- 
tion  of  its  magnitude.  Dollars  can  be  measured 
by  millions,  but  the  tears,  heart  aches  and  loss 


TJIIO    S^rillRKI.     IIl'NTKRS. 

of  two  hand  rod  and  eighty-seven  thousand,  seven 
liundrod  and  eighty-nine  loyal  mon  who  gave  their 
lives  foi1  liberty,  and  nro  historically  represented 
by  head-stones  that  whiten  the  national  come- 
taries,-ean  no  more  be  estimated  than  can  the 
good  that  must  forever  flow  to  the  United  States 
in  wiping  out  the  iniquitous  chatted  slavery. 

Some  persons  are  inclined  to  look  upon  tho 
evils  following  the  war — dissolute  legislation, 
moral  turpitude,  and  political  party  profligacy, 
as  neutralizing  much  if  not  the  entire  national 
benefits  acquired  at  the  enormous  cost  of  the 
Rebellion.  While  it  is  possible,  the  corruption 
following  in  the  wake  of  protracted  wars  with 
large  armies  may  more  than  counterbalance  the 
good  accomplished  by  successful  military  achieve- 
ments, it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  subjugation  of 
southern  rebels,  giving  freedom  to  inillions  of 
slaves,  and  showing  to  credulous  monarchs  the 
ability  of  a  republic  to  coerce  obedience  to  the 
constitution  and  laws,  may  ever  for  good  out- 
weigh the  evils  following  the  war  that  accom- 
plished such  everlasting  benefits.  That  the  lax- 
ity complained  of  has  greatly  increased  within 
tho  last  three  decades  can  scarcely  be  questioned. 
F.vory  department  of  the  government  has  been 
more  or  less  criticised  for  want  of  faithful  per- 
formance. No  department  has  perhaps  suffered 
more  in  the  confidence  of  tho  people  than  that 
political  plum  styled  "Tho  Interior." 

The   just   and  honorable   cause   for  pensioning 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  355 

disabled  soldiers  soon  became  merged  into  poli- 
tics, and  from  head  to  foot  the  distance  was 
made  short  from  fact  to  fraud.  Noah's  Ark  did 
not  exceed  in  variety  with  all  the  species  of 
beasts,  birds,  and  creeping  things,  that  of  the 
contents  of  the  Pension  Building  with  a  single 
species  of  ex  parte  creation.  Applications  of  all 
kinds,  shapes,  and  forms.  This  has  never  ap- 
peared unsatisfactory  to  that  unscrupulous,  un- 
mentionable, who  is  paid  per  head  by  the  bureau 
for  the  art  of  filing  claims.  He  knows  by  ex- 
perience the  wonderful  ability  of  the  institution 
and  its  consulting  politicians  to  overcome  objec- 
tion and  get  the  most  angular  cases  through  the 
hole  that  leads  to  the  public  treasury. 

If  stated,  it  would  scarcely  be  believed  that 
absolute  fraud  could  find  unrequited  favor  in  an 
office  devoted  to  the  most  deserving  of  the  na- 
tion— cases  as  groundless  as  the  following  :  After 
enlisting,  a  soldier  changed  his  mind,  and  when 
called  upon  to  report  forwarded  a  joint  affidavit  of 
himself  and  physician,  in  which  was  stated  said 
soldier  had  before  and  at  the  date  of  enlistment 
permanent  disabilities  (naming  them) ,  which  dis- 
qualified him  for  military  service,  and  that  ho 
should  have  been  rejected.  (Soldiers  at  that 
date  were  sent  forward  without  regulation  ex- 
amination).  Soldier  received  a  discharge  on  the 
affidavit  and  was  happy. 

In  due  time  an  application  was  made  under 
the  arrears  act,  giving  the  diseases  named  in  the 


3;~><J  THK    SQflRHKr      lirXTKRS. 

joint  affidavit  as  having  "occurred  in  the  service 
in  line  of  duty."  In  days  of  honest  administra- 
tion, in  looking  up  the  history  of  the  applicant  in 
the  War  Office,  the  affidavit  was  found  and 
placed  with  the  file  in  the  Pension  Office. 

This  ended  the  case,  and  under  several  admin- 
istrations it  slept  with  attempts  at  fraud.  Per- 
severance is  said  to  he  the  road  to  success,  and 
by  the  stimulant  of  contingent  fees  intercession 
was  secured,  and  by  management  of  good-  legal 
advice  the  case  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  a 
'•special  examiner,"  and  went  through  without 
the  loss  of  a  dollar,  securing  a  small  fortune  in 

o 

arrears,  but  claiming  the  rating  too  low,  and 
making  immediate  application  for  increase. 

It  would  seem  improbable  for  the  heads  of  the 
bureau  not  to  know  and  fully  understand  some 
of  the  many  instances  of  perjury  and  fraud  that 
passed  current  through  the  office.  It  is  the  old 
rejected  or  suspended  cases  with  large  arrears 
that  are  attractive  and  are  thoroughly  investigated 
for  new  evidence.  In  this  attempt  parties  gener- 
ally receive  the  courteous  assistance  of  those 
officially  connected  with  the  office.  Even  a  med- 
ical referee  has  been  known  to  show  great  inter- 
est in  barefaced  fraud,  and  give  tips  to  aid  in 
getting  such  through  the  bureau  successfully. 
(reneral  Phil  Sheridan,  who  was  well  informed  in 
regard  to  the  contents  of  the  great  Pension  Office1, 

ft  o 

was  told  the  contents  were  safe,  as  the  building 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  3oT 

was  fire-proof,  and  could  never  burn  down,  re- 
plied :  '  'That  would  be  my  serious  objection  to  it. " 

Notwithstanding  reports  of  corruption,  fraud, 
avarice,  and  greed  for  public  plunder,  which  may 
slow  the  advancing  pace  of  civilization,  there  are 
enough  common  people  to  preserve  the  nation — 
people  who  worship  not  at  the  feet  of  the  God  of 
Aaron  ;  poor  people  ;  people  who  pay  legal  trib- 
ute to  the  government  ;  honest,  stalwart  stand- 
ard-bearers of  morality,  intelligence,  and  patriot- 
ism ;  supporters  of  common-schools  and  churches  ; 
people  who  are  ever  watchful  of  the  interests  of 
the  nation,  protect  the  sanctity  of  the  ballot-box, 
and  direct  the  legal  machinery  for  the  protection 
of  virtue  and  suppression  of  vice,  possessing  salt 
with  the  savor  of  moral  honesty  that  passes  cur- 
rent in  business  and  social  life. 

The  expressed  will  of  the  people  is  the  law  of 
the  land.  It  has  made  and  amended  constitu- 
tions ;  by  it  black  has  become  white  ;  the  bond 
free  ;  slaves,  citizens.  It  has  erected  monuments  ; 
built  towns  and  cities  ;  and  in  war  and  times  of 
peace  has  accomplished  much  for  the  good  of  all. 
It  has  muzzled  many  of  the  national  vices,  and 
given  civilization  long  strides  in  the  right  direc- 
tion. And  the  spirit  of  the  age  should  by  law 
hasten  the  end  of  growing  political  struggles  for 
place  regardless  of  qualification. 

It  has  become  a  matter  of  common  report,  and 
one.  that  is  generally  believed,  that  successful  ap- 
plicants for  office  by  the  suffrage  of  the  people 


!>">S  Til  10    SQl'IRKKL    Ht'NTKRS. 

are  but  seldom  as  much  interested  in  the  welfare 
of  their  constituents  as  they  are  in  their  own 
sycophantic  obedience  to  selfish  bosses,  who,  un- 
der party  cover,  willingly  contribute  of  their 
wealth  to  perpetuate  a  party  power  that  assures 
the  gratification  of  their  own  greed  for  ill-gotten 
gain. 

Qualification  is  recognixed  as  essential  by  law, 
and  lies  at  the  foundation  of  civil  and  military 
service.  State  laws  require  that  teachers  of  com- 
mon schools  furnish  legal  evidence  of  qualifica- 
tion for  the  position.  The  commander  of  an 
army  must  have  a  military  education  and  quali- 
fication ;  so,  too,  every  appointment  made  through 
the  civil  departments  of  the  government,  for  a 
short  distance  up  the  base,  requires  of  the  applicant 
a  certificate  from  a  qualified  board  of  censors,  stat- 
ing that  said  applicant  is  in  all  respects  fitted  to 
perform  the  duties  of  the  position  applied  for. 
This  is  termed  Ciril  and  Military  Service,  and  has 
been  declared  constitutional. 

If  so,  why  may  not  the  people  demand  more? 
If  a  little  civil  service  meted  out  to  those  filling 
subordinate  positions  is  a  benefit,  why  may  not 
the  like  treatment  be  accorded  to  all  candidates 
seeking  national  positions,  by  appointment  or  di- 
rectly from  the  people?  It  is  admitted  that  civil 
service  is  a  matter  of  safety  and  efficiency  in  sub- 
ordinate civil  positions.  If  so,  it  is  not  unrea- 
sonable to  suppose  the  salutary  effects  would  be 
infinitely  greater  if  applied  to  the  more  responsi- 


RAILROAD  AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  359 

ble  positions.  Education  and  qualification  for 
all  positions  is  the  law  of  military  government ; 
and  most  certainly  similar  requirements  might 
be  made  equally  advantageous  to  the  civil  gov- 
ernment. Military  government  could  not  long 
sustain  existence  without  the  service  of  pre- 
scribed regulations.  The  commanding  general 
of  the  army  obtains  the  high  honor  of  the  posi- 
tion from  his  education  and  certified  ability,  and 
efficiency  as  master  of  the  science  of  war.  The 
President  of  the  United  States,  being  over  all  as 
commander-in-chief,  should  be  thoroughly  versed 
in  the  civil  and  military,  as  Master  of  tJie  Science 
of  Government,  not  only  of  our  own,  but  that  of 
every  nation  on  earth. 

There  does  not  appear  to  be  any  sufficient  rea- 
son why  a  government  civil  service  should  not 
exist  and  be  as  open  to  the  election  of  coming 
generations  as  that  of  law,  medicine,  literary  or 
other  pursuits  ;  and  it  is  not  saying  a  word  too 
much  to  urge  the  necessity  for  an  institution 
adapted  to  the  civil  as  West  Point  is  to  the  mili- 
itary  power,  where  persons  having  taken  the  de- 
gree of  A.M.  may  matriculate  and  qualify  them- 
selves for  the  civil  service,  and  obtain  a  certificate 
of  such  qualification  from  the  institution,  having 
a  prescribed  curriculum,  requiring  four  years  of 
study  to  entitle  one  to  examination  for  the  honors 
of  graduation. 

Individuals  highly  educated  in  the  science 
of  government  and  the  art  of  y;overnin<r,  fitted 


3()0  T1IK    SOJ'IKKKL    IH'NTKUS. 

for  a  field  exclusively  their  own,  would  promote 
an  agreement  upon  the  complex  questions  that 
now  agitate  and  endanger  the  peace  of  society  bv 
keeping  at  fever  heat  party  di (Terences  that  are 
magnified  by  designing  politicians. 

The  high  authority  of  the  teachings  of  the 
court  of  instructions,  would  define  the  policy  and 
give  stability  to  the  Government,  and  would  re- 
move party  press  for  oflice  by  incompetency.  It 
would  also  determine  the  exact  relations  between 
the  several  departments  of  the  Government,  es- 
pecially how  far  the  President  lias  power  to  in- 
volve the  country  in  war  against  the  will  of 
Congress  by  recognizing  belligerency  or  inde- 
pendence in  cases  in  which  Congress  refused  such 
recognition. 

As  the  nation  increases  in  population  and 
number  of  states,  it  requires  increased  wisdom 
and  knowledge  to  rule  and  make  the  people 
prosperous  and  happy.  The  great  central  region 
lying  between  the  Ohio  river.  Lakes  and  Missis- 
sippi will  ever  be  the  lienrt  of  the  Republic. 
Within  it  are  the  life  springs  of  three-fourths  of 
our  country's  whole  area.  Nowhere  in  the  United 
States  is  there  a  basin  of  such  vast  extent,  ca- 
pable of  feeding  so  great  a  population.  "Hence 
?V.s'  destiny  As-  to  It  old  tlie  balance  of  power  between  East 
(mil  IIV.sV,  lii'iicr  it  As  fruit/  rcgaJ."* 

When  the  first-born  of  the  states  of  this  great 


*  "The  Making  of  the  Ohio  Vallev  States." 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  361 

basin  came  into  the  Union  (Ohio) ,  it  brought 
with  its  baptism  the  inauguration  of  National 
Internal  Improvements — a  policy  that  has  enriched 
the  nation  by  liberality  of  expenditures,  improving 
harbors,  water-ways  and  roads,  in  building  cus- 
tom-houses, post-offices,  and  in  assisting  the 
states  in  many  laudable  undertakings,  while  like 
the  miser,  in  all  its  vast  wealth  has  been  wearing 
old,  unbecoming,  unfashionable  clothes  and  doing 
the  business  of  the  nation  in  rented  and  other 
ill-begotten  shops,  located  here  and  there,  as  best 
suited  real-estate  sharks  and  speculators  in  a 
sickly  city.*  But  the  dawn  of  day  is  coming  by 
which  the  people  of  the  North-west  now  see  it  is 
high  time  the  Government  should  make  for  itself 
a  permanent  home — a  place  of  security  for  all  the 
valuable  records  of  the  nation.  A  spot  for  the 
Government  alone,  called  "The  Capitol  of  the 
United  States,"  near  the  center  of  population  con- 
trolling representation,  free  from  private  prop- 
erty. A  capital  with,  capacious  senatorial,  rep- 
resentative and  judicial  halls,  contiguous  to  the 
several  departments,  with  state  dwellings  for  sena- 
tors and  representatives  of  the  several  states, 
and  other  necessary  buildings,  all  to  be  owned 


*  The  death  rate  per  1000  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  present 
capital  is  nearly  double  ordinary  mortuary  statistics  of  other 
cities.  A  single  fatal  disease  — consumption — shows  a  death 
ratio  per  1000.  seven  times  greater  than  any  city  west  of  the 
Alleghany  Mountains. — Hess. 

31 


36'2  TIIK    SCjriRRKL    Hl'NTKRS. 

and  controled  by  the  Government,  each  con- 
structed with  reference  to  the  intended  uses, 
large  enough  to  accommodate  an  ordinary  peace- 
able assemblage  of  American  citizens,  with  room 
to  spare. 

The  most  celebrated  speaker  now  living  in 
America,  on  reciting  a  visit  to  the  present  capi- 
tal during  the  sitting  of  Congress,  states  :  "An- 
other thing  that  impressed  me  was,  that  the  hall 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  was  built  in  de- 
fiance of  all  laws  of  acoustics.  There  are  more 
echoes  than  can  be  counted  to  play  havoc  with  a 
speech,  and  turn  the  finest  oratory  into  a  sense- 
less gabble."  A  capital  situated  on  the  border 
of  an  inland  sea,  with  large  grounds,  parks, 
lakes,  lagoons,  gardens,  and  fountains,  in  beauty 
all  that  art  and  nature  is  able  to  make  one 
place  on  this  continent  fitly  dedicated  to  the 
keeping  of  the  charter  of  the  best  government  on 
earth.  And,  then,  if  the  crowned  heads  of  the 
world  have  a  desire  to  see  the  majesty  of  a  Rc.- 
pnblic,  owned  and  preserved  by  the  people,  let 
them  come  and  look  upon  "The  Capital  of  the 
United  States" — where  just  laws  are  made  and 
interpreted  alike  for  all  the  people. 

A  capital  with  the  architectural  requirements  of 
so  great  a  nation,  bristling  with  "peacemakers" 
and  a  floating  navy  in  sight,  would  increase 
American  pride  and  attachment,  and  do  more  to 
advance  the  arts,  sciences,  and  sound  civilization 
than  all  other  national  improvements  combined. 


RAILROAD    AND    TELEGRAPH    ERA.  363 

It  would  "copy  the  Monroe  Doctrine  into  inter- 
national law,"  and  secure  peace  over  the  entire 
world. 

The  Squirrel  Hunters 

of 
Ohio  and  North-west  will  do  it. 

Good  Night. 


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